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POLICE  HEADQUARTERS. 
(300  MULBRRRY  STREET,  BOROUGH  OF  MANHATTAN.) 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 

OF  THE 

CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


A  STATEMENT  OF  FACTS 


Address  by 
POLICE  COMMISSIONER  GREENE 


PUBLISHED  BY 
THE  CITY  CLUB  OF  NEW  YORK 
October,  1903 

ALFRED  J  YOUNG  COlUECTfO* 

JAY  inWitHG  QOLICOTIQM  ■«  


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION   5 

THE  TAMMANY  ADMINISTRATION,  1898-1901   7 

The  City  "Wide  Open"   8 

Devery  in  Full  Charge  .10 

Blackmail  Centralized   11 

.    How  Licensed  Crime  Increased   12 

"Teach  Brooklyn  how  to  Graft"   14 

Blackmailing  Women  of  the  Streets   15 

The  "Cadet"  System   15 

"  The  Gambling  Commission  "   19 

The  Tammany  Administration  Characterized  .  .  .21 
Gambling  Houses  and  Poolrooms      .       .  .  .35 

Disorderly  Resorts   35 

Illegal  Resorts  Continue  "Wide  Open"         ...  36 

Grafting  Within  the  Department   43 

THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COMMISSIONER  PARTRIDGE    .       .  51 

THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT  IN  1903— THE  ADMINISTRATION 

OF  COMMISSIONER  GREENE   60 

Remanding  of  the  "  Wardmen  "   61 

Inspectors  Ordered  to  Inspect   62 

Suspension  of  Men  Under  Charges   62 

Dismissals  and  Retirements  .       .   63 

Appointments  and  Promotions   64 

Morale  and  Discipline   64 

The  Uniformed  Force  and  the  Public      ....  65 

The  Present  Patrol  System   66 

Transfers  and  Details   67 

Award  of  Medals — Honorable  Mention — Commendations  .  68 

The  Bureau  of  Records  and  Complaints    ....  68 

The  Board  of  Police  Surgeons   70 

The  Detective  Bureau   72 

The  "Boiler  Squad"   73 

Bureau  of  Repairs  and  Supplies   77 

Patrol  Signal  System   78 

APPENDIX  I.  Statement  Showing  the  Men  Dismissed  from  the 
Force  During  the  Year  1902,  the  Charge  upon 
which  They  were  Dismissed,  the  Dates  of  Dismissal 

and  Certiorari,  etc   79 

APPENDIX  II.  Dismissals,  Retirements  and  Appointments  above 
the  Rank  of  Roundsman,  January  ist,  1903,  to 
June  30TH,  1903,  and  Table  of  Changes  in  the 
Personnel  of  the  Force  in  the  Years  1892-1902, 

and  in  the  First  Eight  Months  of  1903     ...  84 

APPENDIX  III.  Diagram  of  the  Present  Patrol  System      ...  89 

[353] 


INTRODUCTION 


No  department  of  the  city  government  is  more  interesting  to  the 
citizen  of  New  York  than  the  police  department.  The  knowledge  that 
the  administration  of  that  department  was  insufferably  corrupt  under 
Tammany  made  possible  the  election  of  Mayor  Low  in  1901.  The 
honest  but  nerveless  administration  of  Commissioner  Partridge  ren- 
dered the  community  blind  to  the  good  work  which  was  going  on  in 
other  departments,  and,  if  continued,  would  have  assured  the  return 
of  Tammany  to  power.  The  work  of  Commissioner  Greene  as  head 
of  the  department  has  redeemed  the  promises  of  police  reform  made  by 
Mayor  Low  and  his  supporters.  This  report  is  a  compilation  of  facts, 
easy  of  verification,  which  will  enable  the  citizen  to  form  his  own  opin- 
ion as  to  this  matter,  and  as  to  the  character  of  the  police  administra- 
tion under  Tammany,  under  Commissioner  Partridge,  and  under  Com- 
missioner Greene. 

With  the  rare  intervals  during  which  Tammany  has  not  been  in 
control  of  the  city  government,  the  police  department  has  been  the  heart' 
of  municipal  and  political  corruption  in  this  city.  That  department 
has,  with  these  rare  intervals,  been  employed  by  Tammany  Hall  as 
the  principal  instrument  for  the  collection  of  blackmail  and  for  the 
consummation  of  frauds  at  the  polls. 

In  1892,  Tammany  having  been  in  control  of  the  department  for 
some  years,  the  investigation  of  the  Lexow  Committee  revealed  to  the 
community  the  horrible  conditions  prevailing  in  the  department.  It 
was  shown  clearly  that  promotions  and  appointments  to  the  force  were 
regularly  matters  of  purchase  and  sale.  But  this  was  not  all.  The 
testimony  given  before  the  committee  showed  that  during  each  of 
the  years  1891,  1892,  and  1893,  many  thousands  of  fraudulent  ballots 
had  been  cast  with  the  active  co-operation  and  connivance  of  the  police. 
Police  captains  were  appointed  from  those  members  of  the  force  who 
especially  connived  at  these  frauds.  Tammany  influence  permeated 
the  department  to  such  a  degree  that  the  district  leaders  dictated  ap- 
pointments, and  from  captain  down  almost  the  entire  force  joined  the 

[355] 


6 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


Tammany  district  associations.  Forced  contributions  were  levied  upon 
the  members  for  the  benefit  of  Wigwam  district  organizations. 

Capt.  Creedon  confessed  to  paying  $15,000  to  secure  a  promotion 
to  a  captaincy,  and  Capt.  Schmittberger,  to  having  secured  the  appoint- 
ment of  another  man  as  captain  in  consideration  of  the  payment  of 
$12,000.  The  average  cost  of  obtaining  an  appointment  as  policeman 
was  $300.  The  police  functionaries  recouped  themselves  in  various 
ways.  Vice  and  crime  were  protected  openly.  One  woman  who  kept 
a  number  of  houses  of  ill-repute  testified  that  she  had  paid  continu- 
ously for  protection  an  aggregate  of  $30,000  or  more.  The  system 
reached  such  perfection  in  detail  that  a  ratable  charge  was  placed  upon 
each  house  according  to  the  number  of  inmates,  the  protection  prices 
ranging  from  $25  to  $50  monthly.  Women  of  the  streets  paid  patrol- 
men for  permission  to  solicit,  and  divided  proceeds.  Visitors  were 
robbed  systematically,  and  the  plunder  was  divided  with  the  police. 
More  than  six  hundred  policy  shops  paid  at  the  monthly  rate  of  Si  5. 
and  pool  rooms  paid  $300  a  month.  It  was  noted  by  the  committee, 
as  a  remarkable  fact,  that  when  public  agitation  grew  very  strong, 
a  private  citizen,  Richard  Croker,  secured  the  closing  of  these  places, 
practically  in  a  single  day.  Every  form  of  gambling  had  to  pay  Jiigh 
prices  for  immunity.  Green  goods  swindlers  were  required  to  make 
monthly  payments,  and  in  addition,  in  case  the  victim  "  squealed,"  to  give 
one-half  of  the  plunder  to  either  ward  or  headquarters  detectives. 
Saloons  paid  $20  monthly,  "according  to  the  established  custom." 
The  police  also  acted  in  collusion  with  thieves  and  dishonest  pawn- 
brokers. Almost  every  branch  of  trade  and  commerce  was  forced  to 
make  monthly  payments,  and  from  every  possible  source  tribute  was 
wrung. 

The  committee  incorporated  in  its  testimony  the  estimate  of  Fore- 
man Taber  of  the  grand  jury  of  March,  1892,  that  the  annual  income 
derived  from  blackmailing  and  different  sources  of  extortion  was 
$7,000,000.  In  this  estimate  were  probably  not  included  the  large  sums 
paid  by  corporations  of  every  kind,  and  other  legitimate  business  in- 
terests which  feared  the  power  of  Tammany  Hall. 

The  immediate  effect  of  these  revelations  upon  the  popular  mind 
was  the  overthrow  of  Tammany  in  the  election  of  1894.  In  that  ye:u- 
Mayor  Strong,  the  anti-Tammany  candidate,  was  elected  by  a  plural - 

[356] 


THE  TAMMANY  ADMINISTRATION 


7 


ity  of  over  45,000,  although  in  1892  a  Tammany  mayor  had  been  elected 
by  a  plurality  of  about  70,000.  In  1897  Tammany  was  again  returned 
to  power,  and  Mayor  Van  Wyck  was  elected  the  first  mayor  of  Greater 
New  York.  The  great  improvement  which  had  been  made  in  the  police 
department  under  Mayor  Strong  immediately  disappeared,  and  the  old 
conditions  were  restored.  Details  of  the  four  years  of  police  demoral- 
ization and  corruption  which  ensued  are  given  in  the  following  pages. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  if  the  administration  of  Mayor  Low 
had  done  nothing  else  for  the  city,  the  redemption  of  the  police  depart- 
ment under  Commissioner  Greene  would  entitle  that  administration  to 
the  grateful  support  of  the  entire  community.  It  would  not  be  reason- 
able to  expect  any  commissioner  of  police  to  eradicate  from  the  de- 
partment in  a  single  year  the  corruption  and  the  abuses  which  flourished 
unchecked  until  they  developed  into  an  organized  system,  of  which  even 
the  honest  men  in  the  force  became  unwilling  accomplices.  Undoubted- 
ly cases  of  blackmail  and  corruption  still  occur ;  but  "  the  system,"  as 
such,  has  been  broken  up,  and  a  vast  improvement  in  the  morale,  the 
discipline,  and  the  efficiency  of  the  force  has  taken  place. 

THE  TAMMANY  ADMINISTRATION,  1898-1901 

^jjfrovyi  bur,  .$or:3'iiuqmr  srto  'ot-'$nibia±>fi  ^ni^ijov  InPMMiO  stoe'twrt't 
Until  the  adoption  of  an  act,  on  February  22nd,  1901,  which  placed 

the  administration  of  the  police  department  in  the  hands  of  a  single 
commissioner,  the  affairs  of  that  department  were  administered  by 
a  board  of  four  commissioners.  The  law  before  February,  1901,  re- 
quired that  not  more  than  two  of  the  commissioners  should  "belong 
to  the  same  political  party,  or  be  of  the  same  political  opinion  in  state 
and  national  politics."  An  act  passed  in  1896,  and  afterward  embodied 
in  the  Greater  New  York  charter,  gave  the  mayor  the  power  to  remove 
any  head  of  department  during  the  first  six  months  of  his  administration. 
The  present  charter  empowers  the  mayor  to  remove  heads  of  departments 
at  any  time. 

On  January  1st,  1898,  Mayor  Van  Wyck  appointed  Bernard  J. 
York  and  John  B.  Sexton,  democrats,  and  Thomas  L.  Hamilton  and 
William  E.  Phillips,  republicans,  as  commissioners  of  the  department. 
Mr.  York  was  and  is  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  "  McLaughlin  machine  " 

[357] 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


in  Brooklyn.  He  received  orders  from  Mr.  McLaughlin,  it  was  said, 
to  carry  out  Tammany's  plans.  Mr.  Sexton  was  and  is  a  Tammany 
district  leader.  Both  Mr.  Hamilton  and  Mr.  Phillips  were  republican 
district  leaders,  the  one  in  Manhattan,  the  other  in  Brooklyn. 

THE  CITY  "  WIDE  OPEN." 

When  on  election  night  in  1897  it  became  known  that  the  Tammany 
ticket  had  been  elected,  the  disreputable  classes  assured  that  the  city  was 
again  to  be  "wide  open,"  vociferously  celebrated  the  occasion  in  public 
orgies  at  Fourteenth  street  and  Broadway,  in  "  the  tenderloin,"  and  in 
other  parts  of  the  city.  Drunken  men  and  women  paraded  the  streets, 
openly  rejoicing  at  the  return  of  Tammany  to  power.  The  expecta- 
tions of  these  classes  were  fully  realized.  With  the  return  of  Tammany 
to  power  on  January  1st,  1898,  the  city  immediately  became  ff  wide 
open."  Illegal  resorts,  which  had  been  suppressed  under  the  adminis- 
tration of  Mayor  Strong,  quickly  resumed  "  open  business."  In  many 
parts  of  the  city  gambling  houses,  pool  rooms,  policy  shops  and  dis- 
orderly houses,  were  soon  as  notorious  as  they  had  been  before  Mayor 
Strong's  administration.  Not  only  was  their  existence  a  matter  of  com- 
mon knowledge,  but  it  was  well  understood  that  upon  payment  of  a 
fixed  scale  of  prices,  varying  according  to  the  importance  and  revenue 
of  each  place,  immunity  could  be  secured.  During  the  first  five  months  of 
Mayor  Van  Wyck's  administration  the  system  of  tacitly  licensing  these 
places  was  somewhat  decentralized.  The  keepers  made  arrangements 
for  "  protection  "  with  Tammany  district  leaders.  These  leaders  retained 
a  part  of  the  blackmail,  a  part  went  to  the  police  captains,  and  other 
parts  were  distributed  among  higher  police  officials  and  certain  su- 
preme leaders  of  Tammany  Hall.  Two,  at  least,  of  the  Tammany  dis- 
trict leaders  not  only  sold  *  protection,"  but  owned  illegal  resorts.  One 
of  these  leaders,  Martin  Engel,  "operated"  a  number  of  disorderly 
houses  on  the  East  Side,  the  other,  "  Percy "  Nagle,  kept  pool  rooms 
in  Harlem.  Besides  the  restoration  of  the  same  system  of  blackmailing 
illegal  resorts  that  was  exposed  so  thoroughly  by  the  "  Lexow  Com- 
mittee," the  old  system  of  selling  promotions  in  and  appointments  to 
the  police  force,  was  made  part  of  the  general  comprehensive  sys- 
tem of  police  blackmail  and  extortion.' 

[358] 


THE  TAMMANY  ADMINISTRATION 


9 


It  was  not,  however,  until  the  appointment  of  William  S.  Devery 
as  chief  of  police  that  the  system  of  blackmail  was  centralized  in  such 
a  manner  that  "  protection  "  had  to  be  bought,  for  the  most  part,  direct 
from  "  headquarters,"  without  any  intermediaries  and  without  the  nec- 
essity of  making  a  multiform  division  of  the  blackmail  proceeds. 

In  August,  1897,  John  McCullagh  had  been  appointed  acting  chief 
of  police.  The  York-Sexton  board  made  him  chief  of  police.  Present- 
ly there  were  rumors  that  Mr.  McCullagh  was  not  serviceable  to  Tam- 
many, and  that  plans  were  under  way  to  get  rid  of  him.  In  reply  to 
these  rumors,  Mr.  York,  president  of  the  board,  said :  "  As  long  as  I 
"  am  president  of  the  board,  he  "  [McCullagh]  "  will  stay,  unless  he  wishes 
"  to  retire.  He  is  a  competent  man,  and  well  able  to  carry  on  the 
"duties  of  the  police;  and  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  board,  the  best  man 
"  in  the  department  for  chief." 

It  was  soon  apparent  that  Mr.  McCullagh  was  unsatisfactory 
to  Tammany.  Patrolman  McConnell,  attached  to  Inspector  Brooks' 
staff,  interfered  with  a  pool  room  at  Twenty-ninth  Street  and  Eighth 
Avenue.  Testimony  before  the  "  Mazet  Committee  "  indicated  that  this 
pool  room  was  owned  by  Frank  Farrell,  and  that  Farrell  had  warned 
Patrolman  McConnell  not  to  interfere,  because  Senator  "  Tim "  Sulli- 
van was  "  backing "  the  place.  Commissioner  Sexton  asked  and  then 
ordered  Mr.  McCullagh  to  transfer  McConnell,  but  Mr.  McCullagh  re- 
fused, and  made  the  transfer  later  only  because  McConnell's  ill-health 
made  it  necessary  to  put  a  physically  sound  man  in  his  place. 

Independent  action  of  this  kind,  if  persisted  in,  would  have  been 
a  serious  blow  to  the  system  of  guaranteed  "  protection."  Hence  it 
was  determined  to  retire  Mr.  McCullagh,  and  the  question  of  his  retire- 
ment wis  brought  up  in  the  board.  Under  the  law  the  chief  of  police 
could  be  retired  on  a  pension  only  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  board 
or  by  a  three  fourths'  vote  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Mayor.  The 
legal  age  for  retirement  was  55  years;  Mr.  McCullagh  had  not  reached 
this  age.  The  republican  members  refused  to  vote  for  Mr.  McCullagh's 
retirement.  On  May  21st,  1898,  Mayor  Van  Wyck  removed  the  repub- 
lican commissioners,  and  at  the  same  time  appointed  Jacob  Hess,  a 
republican  politician,  and  left  one  vacancy  unfilled.  Mr.  Hess  with  the 
certificate  of  his  appointment  reached  police  headquarters  in  advance 
of  the  notices  of  removal  of  Commissioners  Hamilton  and  Phillips, 

[359] 


to 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


who  had  just  left  a  meeting  of  the  board.  Although  ostensibly  a  repub- 
lican, Mr.  Hess  was  a  member  of  the  Democratic  Club.  The  moment 
the  notices  of  removal  were  received  Commissioners  York,  Sexton, 
and  Hess  held  a  meeting,  retired  Mr.  McCullagh  with  the  formal 
approval  of  Mayor  Van  Wyck,  and  appointed  Police  Captain  William 
S.  Devery,  as  Acting  Chief  of  police.  On  June  30th,  1898,  Mayor  Van 
Wyck  appointed  the  fourth  member  of  the  board,  Henry  E.  Abell,  a 
republican. 

DEVERY   IN  FULL  CHARGE 

The  appointment  of  Mr.  Devery  was  ordered  by  Richard  Croker^ 
"  boss "  of  Tammany  Hall.  In  an  interview  published  on  May  4th, 
1898,  Mr.  Croker  said  that  Devery  was  the  best  man  for  chief  of  police. 
Testimony  before  the  "  Lexow  Committee  "  showed  Devery  to  be  one 
of  the  most  corrupt  of  police  captains.  Karl  Werner  testified  that  he 
arranged  with  Devery's  "  wardman,"  Glennon,  to  pay  $600  "  initiation 
fee  "  and  $50  a  month  for  the  privilege  of  opening  and  running  a  dis- 
orderly house  at  number  6  Delancey  Street.  *J  We  never  had  any 
trouble,"  Werner  added,  "  but  we  had  a  tip  once  in  .a  while  to  close." 
(Investigation  of  the  Police  Department  of  the  City  of  New  York;  1894, 
Vol.  II.,  pages  1,486-1,489).  Henry  Hoffman  swore  that  he  paid  to 
Glennon  $500  and  in  addition  $40  a  month  for  "  protection  "  in  opening 
and  carrying  on  a  disorderly  house  at  number  180  Allen  Street.  (Vol. 
II.,  pages  1,537-1,538.)  More  testimony  was  given  to  the  same  effect. 
The  board  of  police  commissioners  under  Mayor  Gilroy  dismissed 
Devery  from  the  force  in  1894,  but  the  courts  re-instated  him  in  1895 
on  the  ground  that  he  had  been  tried  in  his  absence.  Devery  was  in- 
dicted five  times  for  corruption  and  failure  to  suppress  disorderly 
houses.  District  Attorney  Fellows  secured  the  dismissal  of  three  of 
these  indictments.  In  the  case  of  a  fourth  indictment  Justice  Smyth 
granted  a  temporary  injunction  upon  which  no  decision  was  ever 
handed  down,  and  favorable  testimony  by  Superintendent  of  Police 
Byrnes  saved  Devery  from  the  consequences  of  the  fifth  indictment. 
Devery  had  made  himself  indispensable  to  Tammany's  purposes  by 
having  proved  that  he  "never  squealed"  in  times  of  stress  and  that  he 
could  be  relied  'upon.    He  was  a  personal  friend  of  Richard  Croker. 

[360] 


BLACKMAIL  CENTRALIZED 


Before  the  "  Mazet  Committee "  in  1899  Mr.  Croker  testified  as  to 
Devery :  M  I  did  all  I  could  for  him." 

BLACKMAIL  CENTRALIZED 

From  the  moment  Devery  became  acting  chief  the  system  of  black- 
mail was  centralized  and  "  protection "  was  an  assured  commodity. 
There  was  now  no  one  at  headquarters  to  make  trouble.  As  a  con- 
sequence the  city  became  more  thoroughly  **  wide  open "  than  ever. 
The  captains  still  had  their  "  wardmen  "  and  the  inspectors  their  per- 
sonal staffs,  but  permission  to  run  illegal  resorts  now  largely  had  to 
be  obtained  from  headquarters.  The  former  methods  of  collection 
were  improved  upon  and  the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  narrowed 
to  fewer  beneficiaries.  In  1860-65,  when  each  gambling  house  paid 
$100  a  week  to  the  police  for  "  protection,"  and  all  other  illegal  resorts 
had  to  pay  varying  amounts,  the  money  from  these  places  was  sent 
directly  to  headquarters.  There  this  division  of  the  blackmail  was 
made.  The  "  protection  "  money  from  thieves,  burglars  and  "  fences  " 
was  left  at  *'  the  General's,"  a  notorious  saloon  of  the  time.  This 
method  proved  to  be  too  open  and  too  susceptible  of  proof.  Gradually 
the  "  wardman  "  system  was  adopted.  Each  captain  chose  a  patrolman 
as  his  "  wardman."  The  "  wardman  "  was  supposed  to  do  plain-clothes 
detective  duty.  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  collected  the  blackmail.  De- 
ducting a  small  understood  percentage  for  himself,  he  turned  the  bulk 
over  to  the  captain,  who  deducted  a  larger  share,  and  who  in  turn 
passed  the  remainder  on  to  the  inspectors  and  others  "  higher  up." 
This  was  the  method  prevalent  at  the  time  of  the  "  Lexow  Committee's  " 
investigation  and  during  the  first  five  months  of  Mayor  Van  Wyck's 
administration. 

But  with  the  installation  of  Devery  as  chief  of  police  a  new  system 
was  introduced.  Under  the  superseded  system,  if  an  inspector  or  a 
higher  police  official  was  dissatisfied  with  the  amount  he  was  receiv- 
ing, he  could  order  raids  on  illegal  resorts  over  the  captains'  heads. 
Thus  absolute  police  "  protection  "  was  at  no  time  guaranteed.  Under 
Devery  arrangements  generally  had  to  be  made  with  "  headquarters." 
The  entire  city  was  systematically  apportioned.     In  quarters  of  the 

[361] 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


city  where  disorderly  houses  were  most  numerous,  many  of  these  resorts, 
as  the  testimony  in  the  trial  of  "  Wardman "  Bissert  showed,  were 
"  headquarters  houses,"  —  that  is  to  say,  their  keepers  had  made  direct 
arrangements  with  "  headquarters."  No  inspector,  captain,  or  other 
policeman  dared  to  interfere  with  these  places,  unless  he  was  willing 
to  invite  the  resentment  of  the  headquarters'  clique.  In  the  "tender- 
loin "  district  especially,  collections,  instead  of  being  made  by  the  cap- 
tain's wardmen,  as  formerly,  were  now  made  by  a  personal  agent  of 
Devery,  Edward  A.  Glennon,  whose  orders,  it  was  tacitly  understood, 
were  to  be  obeyed  by  the  captain  himself.  Glennon  was  a  patrolman 
detailed  to  "  wardman  "  duty,  and  had  been  Devery's  "  wardman  "  when 
Devery  was  captain  of  the  notorious  Eldridge  Street  precinct.  Edgar 
A.  Whitney  testified  before  the  "  Lexow  Committee  " :  "  Mr.  Glennon 
said :  f  The  captain '  [Devery]  -  wants  this  game  closed  up  until  after 
election  time;  that  if  the  Tammany  ticket  is  elected  we  will  protect  you 
for  anything  from  a  poker  game  to  a  disorderly  house."  Under  Devery, 
Glennon  was  the  virtual  ruler  of  "the  tenderloin." 

In  the  general  scheme  of  "  protection,"  gambling  houses,  pool  rooms, 
policy  shops  and  other  illegal  resorts  were  included.  The  excise  law 
furnished  a  rich  means  of  blackmail.  Unless  a  saloon  keeper  paid  a 
fixed  monthly  sum  to  the  police  he  soon  found  himself  "  in  trouble." 
Robbery  by  disorderly  women  was  tacitly  licensed,  as  were  the  lowest 
and  most  repulsive  form  of  "  dives."  Merchants,  peddlers  and  push- 
cart men  were  systematically  blackmailed  by  the  police.  "  Cadets  " — 
young  men  who  made  a  business  of  ruining  girls  of  tender  age  and 
selling  them  to  keepers  of  disorderly  houses  — were  left  unmolested  by 
the  police.  The  system  of  "  graft "  was  extended  in  every  possible 
direction. 

HOW  LICENSED  CRIME  INCREASED 

The  rapid  growth  of  licensed  vice  and  crime  was  shown  by  the 
testimony  before  the  "  Mazet  Committee "  in  1899.  In  summarizing 
the  results  of  that  investigation  Mr.  Frank  Moss,  counsel  to  the  com- 
mittee, reported :  fl  The  agents  employed  by  the  Committee  had  com- 
"  paratively  small  difficulty  in  obtaining  entrance  into  many  pool  rooms 
"  and  gambling  houses,  and  on  four  different  occasions  between  April 

[362] 


INCREASE  OF  LICENSED  CRIME 


"  and  November,  they  testified  to  numerous  visits  to  more  than  a  hun- 
"  dred  of  these  resorts  where  gambling  on  a  large  scale  with  multitudes 
"  of  people  was  habitually  carried  on.  This  testimony  was  corroborated 
"  by  the  testimony  of  citizens  and  the  production  of  records,  and  it 
"  fairly  proved  that  during  the  entire  period  of  the  committee's  sessions 
"  not  less  than  125  pool  rooms,  known  to  the  employees  of  the  Committee, 
*  were  continuously  doing  business  publicly  and  openly,  the  crowds  fre- 
"  quenting  the  same  running  from  25  to  500  at  a  time,  according  to  the 
"  size  of  the  different  rooms.  It  was  evident  from  this  testimony  that 
"  there  were  many  more  pool  rooms  than  were  visited  by  the  agents, 
"  and  that  every  form  of  gambling  was  conducted  freely  and  practically 
"  open.  Other  evidence  was  given  which  showed  the  wilful  neglect 
"  of  several  police  captains  as  to  pool  rooms.  Pool  rooms  are  located 
"  in  nearly  every  precinct  in  Manhattan  and  in  many  precincts  in  Brook- 
"  lyn,  are  syndicated  and  are  openly  conducted.  The  adjournment  of  the 
"  public  sittings  prevented  the  production  of  further  testimony  which 
"  we  had  secured  on  this  subject."  It  was  generally  known  that  Frank 
Farrell  was  the  head  of  the  pool-room  syndicate.  As  to  this  Mr.  Moss 
reported :  "  The  relation  of  Mr.  Farrell  to  pool  rooms  is  notorious,  and 
"  his  friendship  with  the  present  chief  of  police  is  a  conceded  fact." 
The  policy  shops  were  run  by  a  syndicate  headed  by  "  Al"  Adams.  "  Dolf  " 
Janzen  was  Adams'  principal  manager.  Both  Adams  and  Janzen  have  been 
sent  to  prison  under  the  present  administration.  The  enormous  profits  of 
the  policy  business,  or  swindle,  as  Justice  Scott  called  it,  came  from 
the  very  poorest  classes.  Michael  J.  Green,  a  former  policy  writer, 
testified  before  the  Mazet  Committee  " :  "  The  poorer  classes  play  it 
"  as  a  general  thing.  The  poorer  they  are  the  better  the  business.  Be- 
"  cause  they  always  like  to  take  a  chance.  One  hundred  to  one  shots 
"  is  what  they  think  is  a  great  deal.  They  don't  figure  on  the  chances 
"  against  them  at  all.  It  is  written  in  tenement  houses."  Mr.  Green 
further  testified  that  whenever  a  policy  writer  was  arrested  "  Dolph  " 
Janzen  supplied  a  lawyer. 

Under  Devery  the  gambling  houses  of  the  city  were  controlled  by 
a  syndicate  composed  of  several  Tammany  leaders  and  police  officials. 
On  the  East  Side  there  were  syndicates  which  operated  disorderly 
houses.  Not  only  were  gambling  houses,  pool  rooms,  policy  shops,  and 
disorderly  houses  licensed  for  fixed  payments  of  blackmail,  but  robbery 

[363] 


14 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


was  tacitly  licensed.  Mr.  Moss  reported :  "  The  testimony  of  robbing 
"  from  the  person,  and  especially  as  practised  by  women  on  the  streets, 
"  was  startling.  When  witnesses  at  first  described  it  their  testimony 
"  was  received  with  incredulity,  but  before  we  finished  we  corroborated 
"  it  by  copious  extracts  from  the  precinct  books,  even  though  they 
"  showed  only  the  cases  where  arrests  had  been  made.  The  testimony 
"  of  witnesses  showed  conclusively  that  those  female  thieves  were  in 
"  collusion  with  the  police." 

*    *  * 

->ffl  yo  DSrtlgtV  (ijirlt  acaoot  looq  tnoin  ynfiru  n»w  fmrii 

ft  The  great  increase  of  robberies  from  the  person  on  the  street  and 
"by  women  of  bad  character,  who  frequently  attack  pedestrians,  was 
"  proven  by  hundreds  of  cases  taken  directly  from  the  police  blotters. 
"  While  the  chief's  robbery  book  showed  only  2,784  cases  of  robberies 
"amounting  to  $457,797.87  between  January  1st,  1898,  and  June  15th, 
"  1899',  a  careful  and  laborious  examination  of  the  precinct  robbery, 
"  felony,  and  complaint  books  showed  14,168  cases  of  robbery  between 
"  January  1st,  1898,  and  June  15th,  1899,  amounting  approximately'  to 
"$1,233,517.21.  The  recoveries  indicated  on  the  precinct  books 
"  amounted  to  $98,489.08." 

"TEACH  BROOKLYN  HOW  TO  GRAFT" 

No  precise  estimate  of  the  number  of  disorderly  houses  in  the 
city  under  the  Tammany  administration  was  obtainable.  The  number, 
however,  was  very  great,  and  the  annual  tribute  amounted  to  several 
millions  of  dollars.  Brooklyn  had  been  comparatively  free  from  the 
system  of  blackmail.  In  pursuance  of  a  . plan  to  include  the  entire  city 
in  a  comprehensive  plan  of  blackmail,  a  certain  corrupt  inspector,  who 
has  since  been  dismissed  from  the  department,  was  sent  to  Brooklyn 
"  to  teach  the  Brooklynites  how  to  graft."  Disorderly  houses  had  to 
pay  from  $500  to  $1,000  for  1  initiation  fees  "  and  from  $25  to  $100  a 
month,  according  to  the  number  of  inmates.  Frequently  disorderly 
houses  in  various  parts  of  the  city  were  raided  with  no  other  purpose 
than  to  force  the  keepers,  upon  getting  permission  to  re-open,  to  pay 
a  new  "  initiation  fee." 

[364] 


THE  "CADET"  SYSTEM 


i5 


BLACKMAILING  WOMEN  OF  THE  STREETS 

Illegal  resorts,  having  a  fixed  habitation,  could  be  reached  easily 
for  purposes  of  blackmail.  With  the  women  of  the  streets  it  wras  dif- 
ferent. In  order  to  blackmail  them,  the  police  arrested  them  at  fre- 
quent intervals.  Those  arrested  in  "  the  Tenderloin .'  were  given  to 
understand  that  "  Bob "  Nelson,  a  professional  Tenderloin  bondsman, 
who  enjoyed  a  monopoly  in  that  district,  would  bail  them  out.  Nelson 
charged  five  dollars  for  every  hundred  dollars  of  bail  required.  Be- 
fore the  "  Mazet  Committee "  Devery  admitted  his  friendship  with 
Nelson. 

THE  "  CADET  SYSTEM 

The  East  Side  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan  especially  was  crowded 
with  open  vice,  the  most  repulsive  feature  of  which  was  the  "  cadet " 
system.  The  "  cadets  "  were  young  men  who  made  a  business  of  luring 
girls  to  disorderly  houses  as  inmates.  That  the  "  cadet "  system  was 
carried  on  unmolested  as  a  business  with  the  full  knowledge  of  the 
police  was  incontestibly  established  by  proofs  in  many  directions.  Such 
arrests  of  *  cadets  \\  as  were  made  were  made,  not  by  the  police,  but  by 
agents  of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children.  The 
"cadet"  system  continued  to  the  very  end  of  the  Tammany  administra- 
tion.   It  was  thus  described  by  District  Attorney  Philbin  in  1901 : 

"  This  is  nothing  short  of  a  deliberate  merchandising  of  the  virtue 
"  of  women,  usually  young  girls,  and  placing  them  in  such  a  position 
"  that  escape  from  a  life  of  degradation  is  impossible. 

"  The  methods  which  have  usually  been  adopted,  and  which  are 
"  largely  prevalent  in  parts  of  this  city,  are  either  to  get  the  victim  to 
"  enter  into  a  marriage  with  one  of  the  conspirators,  usually  a  youth 
"  about  *wenty  years  of  age,  who  lures  his  wife  into  a  disorderly  house, 
"  and  there  compels  her  to  enter  upon  the  awful  traffic  ;  or  to  lead  the 
"  young  woman  in  the  first  instance  to  a  disorderly  house  under  the 
"  pretext  of  furnishing  her  with  employment  as  a  servant.  She  is  then 
"  introduced  to  the  woman  in  charge  of  the  house,  who  at  first  keeps 
"  up  the  pretext  of  employment,  but  her  clothes  are  soon  taken  from 
"  her,  and  she  is  provided  with  a  costume  in  which  she  fears  to  appear 
"  in  the  street.  The  victim  is  then  locked  in  a  room  and  compelled  to 
"  submit. 

[365] 


16 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  To  the  average  citizen  such  things  may  seem  impossible,  and  it 
"  will  scarcely  be  believed  that  the  victim  cannot  escape  if  she  deter- 
"  mines  to  do  so.  It  might  be  supposed  that  the  aid  of  the  police  could 
"  be  readily  enlisted,  but  that  avenue  of  escape  is  almost  invariably 
"  inaccessible,  because  the  persons  who  engage  in  this  nefarious  trade 
"  have,  as  a  preliminary  measure  and  as  part  of  their  business  scheme. 
"  made  arrangements  with  the  police ;  so  that  no  matter  how  much  of 
'  a  man  the  patrolman  may  be  to  whose  notice  such  a  case  is  brought, 
"  he  dares  not  interfere  with  the  perpetration  of  this  awful  wrong,  be- 
"  cause  of  the  fear  of  the  severest  discipline. 

"As  a  rule,  however,  the  victim,  after  having  been  confined  in  the 
"  house  thus  for  some  days  and  obliged  to  lead  the  life  of  the  other 
?  inmates,  believes  the  statement  of  her  captors  that,  once  having  been 
"  an  inmate  of  such  a  house,  she  can  never  be  reclaimed,  and  had  better, 
"  therefore,  resign  herself  with  the  best  grace  possible  to  the  position 
"  in  which  she  has  been  placed. 

"  It  is  believed  by  all  who  have  looked  into  the  peculiar  phase  of 
"  crime  that  the  youths  who  thus  enter  into  marriage  with  their  victims 
"  contract  several  marriages,  and  thus  commit  the  crime  of  bigamy  with 
"impunity;  for  when  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  evidence  of  the  graver 
"  crime,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  less  serious  charge  of  bigamy 
"  could  be  sustained. 

"  To  the  residents  of  all  parts  of  this  city,  of  whatever  social  sta- 
"  tion,  it  may  be  said  that  they  cannot  rest  in  any  fancied  security  from 
"  the  perpetration  of  such  wrongs  against  members  of  their  own  families. 
"  The  youths  engaged  in  this  practice  do  not  wear  any  badge  or  sign 
"  indicating  their  horrible  vocation,  but  present  the  appearance  of  the 
"  ordinary  New  York  young  man,  and  seek  their  victims  in  the  parks 
"  and  in  all  other  places  frequented  generally  by  the  public. 

"  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  if  the  police  were  free  from 
"  the  interference  of  political  influence,  and  were  allowed  to  do  their 
"  duty,  it  would  be  very  difficult  for  such  a  crime  to  be  committed,  if, 
"  in  fact,  it  were  not  rendered  almost  impossible.  This  will  become 
:<  apparent  when  we  realize  that  it  takes  an  incredibly  short  period  of  time 
"  for  a  policeman,  whether  he  be  of  high  or  low  rank,  to  become  acquainted 
"  with  the  people  within  his  precinct;  and  although  some  of  the  victims 
"  are  foreigners,  yet  a  confidence  in  the  police  which  does  not  now  exist 

[366] 


THE  "CADET"  SYSTEM 


»7 


"  would  then  be  established,  and  persons  against  whom  such  a  crime 
"  was  sought  to  be  perpetrated  would  not  hesitate  to  have  recourse  to 
"  the  police  for  aid." 

In  November  1898,  in  sentencing  a  "cadet,"  Judge  Newburger  said: 
"  My  attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  the  defendant  is  one  of 
"  a  number  who  have  made  it  their  business  to  live  off  the  proceeds  of 
"  the  shame  of  unfortunate  women  who  congregate  on  the  east  side." 
*  *  *  "  This  seems  to  have  grown  within  the  last  few  years  to  large 
"  proportions." 

Judge  McMahon.  in  sentencing  Frank  Gross  alias  Frank  Spialt,  a 
"cadet,"  on  May  17th,  1901,  also  recognized  the  proportions  to  which 
the  "  cadet  system  "  had  grown  when  he  said,  "  This  traffic  in  children 
"  has  got  to  stop,  if  it  is  possible  to  prevent  it." 

On  May  16th,  1901,  the  annual  report  of  the  University  Settlement 
Society  was  published.    It  contained  the  following  statement : 

"  Our  own  opinion,  which  accords  with  that  of  other  witnesses,  is 
"  that  the  temptation  of  young  children  to  vice  on  the  streets,  in  the 
u  hallways,  staircases  and  backyards  of  the  tenement  houses  has  been 
"  unexampled  in  our  municipal  history." 

On  June  27th,  1901,  Justice  William  Travers  Jerome,  of  the  Court 
of  Special  Sessions,  was  quoted  in  the  New  York  Times  as  saying: 

"  People  are  simply  ignorant  of  conditions  on  the  east  side.  If 
"  those  conditions  existed  in  some  other  communities,  there  would  be  a 
"  Vigilance  Committee  speedily  organized,  and  somebody  would  get 
"  lynched.  The  continual  greed  and  extortion  of  the  Police  Captains, 
"  who  charge  five  hundred  dollars  for  a  disorderly  resort  to  open  in 
"  their  precinct,  and  then  collect  fifty  to  a  hundred  per  month,  has, 
"  however,  made  even  vice  unprofitable.  Details  I  know  are  revolting 
"  and  not  nice  to  read,  but  yet  the  people  ought  to  know  about  them. 
"  Just  yesterday  I  sentenced  to  six  months  in  the  penitentiary  the 
"  keepers  of  one  of  the  most  depraved  houses  of  the  east  side.  I  firmly 
"  believe  that  they  were  merely  the  agents  of  the  man  who  owns  not 
"  one  but  many  of  such  places.  He  is  well  known  as  a  politician  in  a 
"  certain  notorious  district. 

"  That  house  is  but  one  of  hundreds  within  a  radius  of  one  mile  of 
"  this  building,  where  criminals  are  sometimes  brought  to  justice.  I 
"  will  stake  my  reputation  that  there  are  scores  within  less  than  that 

[367] 


iS 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  distance  from  here  in  which  there  are  an  average  often  of  twelve 
"  children  from  thirteen  to  eighteen  years  old." 

City  Magistrate  Robert  C.  Cornell  said  in  1901 :  "  The  [cadet] 
"  cases  *  *  *  "  are,  to  my  own  knowledge,  typical  cases  of  the 
"  depravity  of  the  thickly  populated  parts  of  the  city.  In  my  experience 
"  of  six  years  on  the  city  magistrates'  bench,  I  have  seen  repeated  in- 
*'  stances  of  this  character  in  such  numbers  that  they  clearly  indicate 
"  the  existence  of  a  general  condition.  Unhappily,  instead  of  the  steady 
"  improvement  which  should  take  place  in  a  civilized  community,  there 
"  has  been  a  very  marked  increase  in  crime  of  all  kinds  in  parts  of  the 
"  city  within  the  last  few  years.  The  cases  brought  before  me  show 
"  that  the  ranks  of  prostitutes  are  recruited  largely  from  among  the 
"  virtuous  people;  and  again  and  again  I  have  seen  parents  in  my  court 
"  tear  out  their  hair  upon  discovering  that  their  daughters  had  been 
"  led  astray.  I  have  had  occasion  to  punish  a  flashy  lot  of  young  men 
"  whose  sole  apparent  means  of  support  was  the  proceeds  of  the  shame 
"  of  women.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  horrible  condition  of 
"  affairs  could  not  exist  in  the  presence  of  an  efficient  and  vigilant 
"  police.  The  best  proof  that  can  be  offered  to  substantiate  this  state- 
"  ment  is  that  when  Police  Captain  Titus  was  sent  to  the  Red  Light 
"  District,  after  the  notoriously  bad  condition  of  things  which  existed 
"  when  Herlihy  was  in  command,  it  only  required  a  few  weeks  of  active 
"  work  on  the  part  of  an  honest  and  unhampered  policeman  to  '  clean  up  • 
"  the  district.  This  was  at  once  proof  that  the  police  were  incapable, 
"  and  that  the  remedy  rested  with  them."  Captain  Titus  was  soon  trans- 
ferred to  another  part  of  the  city. 

In  October,  1901,  the  City  Club  published  for  the  Women's  Cam- 
paign Committee  a  pamphlet  giving  the  horrible  details  of  some  of  these 
"  cadet "  cases.  They  were  nearly  all  cases  in  which  the  offenders  had 
been  tried  and  sentenced.  The  City  Club  said  in  the  introduction  to 
this  pamphlet: 

"  These  are  plain  facts  about  things  that  could  not  happen  under 
"  a  decent  and  honest  city  government.  What  do  they  mean  ?  What 
"makes  these  things  possible?  How  can  they  be  stopped?  If  the 
"  fathers  and  mothers  of  this  city  want  them  stopped,  they  will  find 
"  a  way. 

"  The  question  presented  is  not  the  "  suppression  of  vice."  The 

[368] 


"THE  GAMBLING  COMMISSION" 


r9 


"  question  is  not  whether  the  vicious  can  be  made  virtuous  by  law.  It  is 
7  whether  we  shall  continue  a  system  under  which  the  corrupt,  money- 
"  making  combination  of  law-breakers  with  the  servants  of  the  people, 
"  destroys  the  virtue  of  our  sons  and  daughters.  The  fight  is  against 
V  those  who  use  their  control  of  the  city  government  to  make  procurers 
"  of  our  young  men  and  harlots  of  our  young  women.  The  facts  which 
"  justify  this  statement  are  presented  in  the  following  pages.  They 
show : 

"  i.  That  the  business  of  ruining  young  girls,  and  forcing  them 
"  into  a  life  of  shame,  for  the  money  that  is  in  it,  has  grown  to  con- 
siderable proportions  in  this  city  within  the  last  three  or  four  years. 

"  2.  That  its  existence  is  known  to  the  police. 

"  3.  That  the  police  make  little  or  no  effort  to  stop  it. 

"  4.  That  the  police,  or  those  for  whom  they  act,  probably  derive 
"  profit  from  the  traffic  in  question. 

"  5.  That  a  reasonably  active  and  efficient  Police  Department  could 
"  stop  this  traffic. 

"  No  attempt  is  made  to  present  a  case  in  the  legal  sense.  Enough 
"  is  submitted  to  show  that  the  observed  facts  can  not  be  reconciled  with 
"  any  other  theory  than  that  presented  above.  Cases  and  instances,  the 
"  conclusions  of  experienced  observers,  and  the  affidavits  of  residents  of 
"  those  parts  of  the  city  which  are  mOst  affected  could  be  produced  in 
"  great  numbers. 

*  If  the  above  cases  were  only  such  isolated  instances  as  might  be 
"  found  in  any  large  community,  no  excuse  could  be  made  for  thus 
"  presenting  them.  But  all  competent  and  honest  observers  agree  that 
"  such  cases  are  typical,  and  that  the  business  of  ruining  young  girls  in 
"  the  City  of  New  York  has  increased  greatly  within  a  few  years, 
"  assuming  almost  the  character  of  an  organized  calling. 

"the  gambling  commission" 

On  March  9th,  1900,  the  Times  published  an  article,  the  details  of 
which  it  iterated,  showing  that  more  than  $3,095,000  was  paid  every 
year  by  the  keepers  of  gambling  places  of  various  kinds  for  protection 
afforded  them  by  the  police  and  other  powers  of  the  city  government. 
"  The  New  York  Times  has  facts  in  its  possession  which  make  this  an 

[369] 


20 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  absolute  certainty.  This  enormous  amount  of  money  is  handled  by 
"  what  is  known  among  gamblers  as  the  '  Gambling  Commission,'  which 
"  is  composed  of  a  commissioner  who  is  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  city 
"  departments,  two  state  senators,  and  the  dictator  of  the  pool-room 
"  syndicate  of  this  city,  who  was  before  the  Mazet  Committee,  and  who 
"  is  allied  to  Tammany  Hall. 

"  This  so-called  commission  meets  weekly  in  the  apartments  of  one 
"  of  its  members,  not  far  from  Forty-seventh  Street  and  Broadway.  The 
"money  is  not  apportioned  at  these  conferences,  but  licenses  to  run 
"  gambling  houses  are  virtually  issued  there. 

"  Not  a  gambling  house  is  running  in  this  city  to-day  that  is  not 
"  known  to  this  board,  and  not  a  place  is  running  that  does  not  pay  its 
"tax  to  this  board.  Its  system  is  as  complete  as  any  branch  of  the  city 
"  government.  There  are  no  leaks,  and  no  unauthorized  place  can  run 
"  for  twenty-four  hours  without  either  '  putting  up '  or  '  shutting  up.'  " 

The  Times  estimated  the  annual  amounts  extorted  from  gambling 
places  as  follows: 

Pool  rooms,  400,  at  $300  per  month,  $120,000  per  year. . .  $1,440,000 

Crap  games,  500,  at  $150  per  month,  $75,000  per  year    .  900,000 

Gambling  houses,  2C0  at  $150  per  month,  $30,000  per  year  360,000 
Gambling  houses,  large,  20,  at  $1,000  per  month,  $20,000 

per  year   240,000 

Envelope  games,  50,  at  $50  per  month,  $2,500  per  year. . .  30,000 

Policy    125,000 


$3,095,000 

When  these  facts  were  placed  before  Mr.  York,  president  of  the 
board  of  police  commissioners,  he  said:  "If  such  a  thing  exists  it  is 
"  infamous,  but  to  prove  it  is  next  to  impossible."  Mr.  York  added  that 
the  department  would  investigate  thoroughly  any  complaints  made  to 
it.  Devery,  however,  was  the  real  ruler  of  the  department.  It  is  need- 
less to  say  that  the  police  authorities  made  no  investigation. 

But  the  Grand  Jury  then  in  session  took  up  the  matter.  After 
three  weeks'  investigation  the  Grand  Jury  handed  up  more  than  forty 
indictments  for  gambling  and  three  indictments  against  Police  Captain 
Thomas  for  neglect  of  duty  in  failing  to  suppress  the  Tivoli  and  other 

f37o] 


TAMMANY  CHARACTERIZED 


2  I 


notorious  resorts  in  his  district.  Devery  denounced  these  indictments 
as  "  nonsense,"  and  he  refused  to  suspend  Thomas  pending  trial  on 
charges.  The  charges  were  dismissed  by  the  police  board  in  the  fol- 
lowing summer.  The  Grand  Jury  also  handed  up  a  presentment  deal- 
ing with  disorderly  houses.  "  We  do  charge  and  present  that  in  their 
"  relations  to  these  places,  the  officials  of  the  police,  from  the  rounds- 
"  man  up  to  the  commissioners,  are  guilty  of  criminal  ignorance  and 
"  criminal  negligence.  The  root  of  the  evil  is  not  so  much  in  the 
"  gambling  or  pool-selling  or  policy-playing,  or  in  the  disorderly  resorts, 
"  as  it  is  in  the  system  of  police  administration,  which  either  blindly  or 
"  corruptly  permits  open  and  flagrant  violations  of  the  law  to  go  un- 
"  punished  and  unchecked.  The  inference  is  unavoidable  that  the  neglect 
"  and  blindness  (under  the  present  police  system)  are  due,  not  to  a  lack 
f  of  intelligence  or  of  knowledge,  but  to  some  direct  interest  in  the 
"  maintainance  of  these  places." 

The  "  wide  open  "  condition  of  the  city,  with  its  huge  official  sys- 
tem of  blackmail  and  licensed  crime,  was  known  to  every  observer. 
But  Richard  Croker  said,  "  We  have  the  best  city  government  in  the 
"  world.  All  the  departments  are  run  honestly  and  economically,  the 
"  streets  are  clean,  and  everything  is  done  to  make  the  best  city  in  the 
"  world." 

THE  TAMMANY  ADMINISTRATION  CHARACTERIZED 

Many  citizens  and  organizations  thought  otherwise.  In  1900  the 
Rev.  Walter  Paddock,  rector  of  the  Pro-Cathedral  in  Stanton  Street, 
complained  to  Captain  Herlihy  of  the  Eldridge  Street  station  and  In- 
spector Cross  of  the  evil  conditions  on  the  East  side,  and  was  grossly 
insulted.  Herlihy  said,  "  You're  a  liar,"  and  Inspector  Cross  expressed 
the  same  opinion  less  bluntly.  Charges  were  preferred  against  Herlihy. 
The  board  of  police  commissioners  tried  him  in  December,  19CO,  and 
declared  him  not  guilty  of  the  charges  of  neglect  of  duty. 

On  September  27th,  1900,  Bishop  Potter,  in  his  address  to  the 
Diocesan  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  said: — 

"  The  corrupt  system,  whose  infamous  details  have  since  then  been 
"steadily  uncovered  to  our  increasing  horror  and  humiliation,  was 
"  brazenly  ignored  by  those  who  were  fattening  on  its  spoils,  and  the 

[37i] 


2  2 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"world  was  presented  with  the  astounding  spectacle  of  a  great  muni- 
"  cipality  whose  civic  mechanism  was  largely  employed  in  trading  in 
"the  bodies  and  souls  of  the  innocent  and  defenseless.  What  has  been 
"  published  in  this  connection  is  but  the  merest  hint  of  what  exists  — 
"  and  exists,  most  appalling  of  all,  as  the  evidence  has  come  to  me  under 
"  the  seal  of  confidence  in  overwhelming  volume  and  force  to  demon- 
"  strate  —  under  a  system  of  terrorism  which  compels  its  victims  to 
"  recognize  that  to  denounce  it  means  the  utter  ruin,  so  far  as  all  their 
"  worldly  interests  are  concerned,  of  those  who  dare  to  do  so.  This 
"  infamous  organization  for  making  merchandise  of  the  corruption  of 
"  girls  and  boys,  and  defenseless  men  and  women,  has  adroitly  sought 
"  to  obscure  a  situation  concerning  which  all  honest  people  are  entirely 
"clear,  by  saying  that  vice  cannot  be  wholly  suppressed.  Nobody  has 
"  made  upon  the  authorities  of  New  York  any  such  grotesque  demand. 
"  All  that  our  citizens  have  asked  is  that  the  government  of  the  city  shall 
"  not  be  employed  to  protect  a  trade  in  vice,  which  is  carried  on  for 
"  the  benefit  of  a  political  organization.  The  case  is  entirely  clear.  No 
"  Mephistophelian  cunning  can  obscure  it,  and  I  thank  God  that  there 
"  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  end  of  such  a  condition  of  things  is 
"  not  far  off." 

On  October  3d,  1900,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing preamble  and  resolution: 

"  Whereas,  There  is  a  widespread  and  well-founded  belief  in  this 
"  city  that  certain  officials  in  the  Police  Department  are  addicted  to 
"  corrupt  practices,  and  are  soliciting  and  receiving  moneys  for  the 
"  wicked  protection  of  vice  and  crime,  thus  encouraging  the  lawless 
"  element  of  this  city  to  the  detriment  of  decent  and  honest  government, 
"and  to  the  endangering  of  life  and  property;  and 

"  Whereas,  The  Charter  of  Greater  New  York  has  conferred  upon 
"  the  Mayor  the  high  duty  and  responsibility  of  removing  the  head  of 
"any  department  that  is  incompetent  or  guilty  of  violations  of  law; 
"  therefore,  be  it 

"  Resolved,  That  the  President  of  this  Chamber  be  and  hereby  is 
"  directed  to  urge  the  Mayor  to  exercise  the  supreme  power  vested  in 
"him  to  the  end  that  the  reproach  now  universally  resting  upon  the 
"  government  and  good  name  of  this  city  may  be  speedily  removed." 

Mayor  Van  Wyck  paid  no  attention  to  these  proceedings. 

[372] 


BISHOP  POTTER'S  PROTEST 


23 


The  Diocesan  Convention  instructed  Bishop  Potter  to  make  com- 
plaint to  the  authorities,  both  of  the  conditions  which  the  police  allowed 
on  the  East  Side  and  of  the  treatment  which  they  gave  to  the  complain- 
ing clergyman.  On  November  15th,  1900,  Bishop  Potter  sent  this  letter 
to  Mayor  Van  Wyck: 

"  Sir — At  No.  130  Stanton  Street,  in  this  city,  there  is  a  work  for 
"  the  people  resident  in  that  neighborhood  of  a  missionary,  educational 
"  and  social  character  for  which  for  some  years  I  have  been  directly 
"  and  personally  responsible.  Its  influence  for  good  order  and  good 
"  morals,  to  describe  it  in  no  other  way,  has  been  considerable,  and  has 
"  been  recognized,  I  think  I  may  venture  to  say,  by  those  who  know  it 
"  as  of  real  and  enduring  value.  It  is  not  only  a  centre  for  the  minis- 
"  trations  of  religion,  but  also  for  training  in  various  arts  and  handi- 
M  crafts,  for  a  free  library,  gymnasium,  cooking,  sewing  and  other  schools, 
"  etc.,  etc.,  and  as  such,  for  those  whose  lives  are  often  hard  and  narrow 
"  and  whose  pleasures  and  privileges  are  few,  it  has  been  recognized  as 
¥  an  important  factor  in  promoting  the  virtue  and  good  order  of  the 
"  communities  to  which  it  ministers. 

"In  view  of  these  facts  it  would  seem  that  it  has  a  valid  claim  upon 
"  the  sympathy,  co-operation  and  at  least  courteous  consideration  of 
"  those  who  officially  represent  our  city  government  and  the  guardian- 
"  ship  of  decency  and  good  morals.  I  urge  here  no  other  claim  for  it, 
"  and  I  beg  to  say  that  I  am  not  now  addressing  you  because  there  has 
"  been  in  that  which  I  now  desire  to  bring  to  your  notice  a  vulgar  and 
"  brutal  absence  of  these  in  connection  with  one  who  happens  to  have 
"  been  my  own  representative.  The  personal  element,  so  far  as  he  is  or 
"  I  am  concerned,  is  of  the  very  smallest  consequence. 

"  But  the  thing  that  is  of  consequence,  sir,  is  that  when  a  minister 
"  of  religion  and  a  resident  in  a  particular  neighborhood,  whose  calling 
"  and  character,  experience  and  truthfulness  are  alike  widely  and  abun- 
"  dantly  recognized,  goes  to  the  headquarters  of  the  police  in  his  district 
"  to  appeal  to  them  for  the  protection  of  the  young,  the  innocent  and 
"  the  defenceless  against  the  leprous  harpies  who  are  hired  as  runners 
"  and  touters  for  the  lowest  and  most  infamous  dens  of  vice  he  is  met, 
"  not  only  with  contempt  and  derision,  but  with  the  coarsest  insult  and 
"  obloquy. 

[373] 


^4 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  You  will  say  that  these  are  strong  words.  I  hold  myself  ready 
"  at  any  time  to  submit  the  facts  that  substantiate  them.  The  statement 
"  now  in  my  possession  of  two  clergymen  of  the  highest  character  con- 
"  tains  the  testimony  of  two  men,  given  without  exaggeration,  with  the 
"  most  painstaking  reserve,  and  with  absolute  truthfulness.  In  sub- 
"  stance  it  is  briefly  this :  That  when  one  of  them  complained  to  a  police 
"  captain  of  a  condition  of  things  in  his  immediate  neighborhood,  whose 
"  disgusting  infamy  is  a  matter  of  common  notoriety,  a  condition  of 
"  things  easily  verified  by  any  intelligent  citizen  who  passes  through  the 
"  streets  in  which  it  exists,  he  was  told  that  he  lied;  and  that  when,  dis- 
"  heartened  by  such  an  experience,  he  carried,  his  complaint  to  a  higher 
"  authority  in  the  police  force  he  was  met  with  insolent  derision. 

"  I  affirm  that  such  a  virtual  safeguarding  of  vice  in  the  city  of 
"  New  York  is  a  burning  shame  to  any  decent  and  civilized  community 
"  and  an  intolerable  outrage  upon  those  whom  it  especially  and  pre- 
"  eminently  concerns.  I  am  not,  I  beg  to  say,  unmindful  of  the  fact  that 
"  the  existence  of  vice  in  a  great  city  is,  practically,  an  inevitable  con- 
"  dition  of  the  life  of  such  a  community.  I  am  not  demanding  that  vice 
"  shall  be  *  stamped  out '  by  the  police  or  any  other  civil  authority.  That 
"  is  a  task  which  would  demand  for  its  achievement  a  race  of  angels  and 
"  not  of  men. 

"  But  I  approach  you,  sir,  to  protest  with  all  my  power  against  a 
"  condition  of  things  in  which  vice  is  not  only  tolerated,  but  shielded  and 
"  encouraged  by  those  whose  sworn  duty  it  is  to  repress  and  discourage 
"  it,  and,  in  the  name  of  unsullied  youth  and  innocence  of  young  girls 
"  and  their  mothers,  who,  though  living  under  conditions  often  of  priva- 
"  tion  and  the  hard  struggle  for  a  livelihood,  have  in  them  every  instinct 
"  of  virtue  and  purity  that  are  the  ornaments  of  any  so-called  gentle- 
"  women  in  the  land. 

"I  know  those  of  whom  I  speak;  their  homes  and  their  lives,  their 
"  toil  and  their  aspirations.  Their  sensibility  to  insult  or  outrage  is  as 
"  keen  as  theirs  who  are  in  your  household  or  mine,  and  before  God  and 
"  in  the  face  of  the  citizens  of  New  York  I  protest,  as  my  people  have 
"  charged  me  to  do,  against  the  habitual  insult,  the  persistent  menace, 
"  the  unutterably  defiling  contact  to  which,  day  by  day,  because  of  the 
"  base  complicity  of  the  police  of  New  York  with  the  lowest  forms  of 
"  vice  and  crime,  they  are  subjected. 

[374] 


BISHOP  POTTER'S  PROTEST 


?5 


"  And  in  the  name  of  these  little  ones,  these  weak  and  defenseless 
*  ones,  Christian  and  Hebrew  alike,  of  many  races  and  tongues,  but  of 
"  homes  in  which  God  is  feared  and  His  law  revered,  and  virtue  and 
"  decency  honored  and  exemplified,  I  call  upon  you,  sir,  to  save  these 
"  people  who  are  in  a  very  real  way  committed  to  your  charge  from  a 
"  living  hell,  defiling,  deadly,  damning,  to  which  the  criminal  supineness 
"  of  the  constituted  authorities,  set  for  the  defense  of  decency  and  good 
"  order,  threatens  to  doom  them. 

"  I  have  no  methods  to  suggest,  no  individuals  to  single  out  for 
"  especial  rebuke  and  chastisement.  These  are  for  you  to  determine  and 
"  deal  with. 

"  The  situation  which  confronts  us  in  this  metropolis  of  America 
"  is  one  of  common  and  open  notoriety,  and  of  such  a  nature  as  may  well 
"  make  us  a  byword  and  hissing  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 

"  For  nowhere  else  on  earth,  I  verily  believe,  certainly  not  in  any 
"  civilized  or  Christian  community,  does  there  exist  such  a  situation  as 
"  defiles  and  dishonors  New  York  to-day. 

"  Vice  exists  in  many  cities,  but  there  is  at  least  some  persistent 
"  repression  of  its  external  manifestations,  and  the  agents  of  the  law 
"  are  not,  as  here,  widely  believed  to  be  fattening  upon  the  fruits  of  its 
"  most  loathsome  and  unnamable  forms. 

"  I  come  to  you,  sir,  with  this  protest  in  accordance  with  the  in- 
"  structions  lately  laid  upon  me  by  the  Convention  of  the  Episcopal 
"  Church  of  the  Diocese  of  New  York.  The  events  which  provoked  its 
"  action  occurred  some  months  ago.  There  has  been  no  haste  on  my 
"  part  or  on  theirs  in  behalf  of  whom  I  speak  in  reaching  conclusions 
"  as  to  the  situation  to  which  I  refer.  Months  have  passed  since  the 
"  incidents  occurred  to  which  I  have  alluded  in  this  communication.  But 
"  in  all  these  months  the  condition  of  things  in  whole  neighborhoods  has 
"  not  improved,  but  rather  grown  worse. 

"  Vice  not  only  flaunts  in  the  most  open  and  ribald  forms,  but  hard- 
"  working  fathers  and  mothers  find  it  harder  than  ever  to-day  to  defend 
"  their  households  from  a  rapacious  licentiousness  which  stops  at  no 
"  outrage  and  spares  no  tenderest  victim.  Such  a  state  of  things  cries 
"  to  God  for  vengeance  and  calls  no  less  loudly  to  you  and  me  for  redress. 

"  This,  sir,  is  my  case.  I  leave  it  confidently  in  your  hands.  Con- 
"  fidently,  I  say,  because  I  cannot  believe  that  you  will  fail  to  recognize 

[375] 


26 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  it  a  great  duty,  a  duty  which  you  will  set  yourself  to  discharge,  no 
"  matter  how  great  the  cost. 

"  I  do  not  forget  what  has  come  to  be  too  often  expected  in  our 
"  day  from  those  who  hold  office  when  those  who  are  their  partisan 
41  associates  are  involved  in  wrongdoing.  But  I  cannot  believe  that  in 
"  such  a  case  as  this  you  will  hesitate  to  do  your  duty,  no  matter  where 
"  the  doing  of  it  may  compel  you  to  strike. 

"  Great  place  such  as  yours  demands  great  courage  and  great  sacri- 
"  fice. 

"  Great  crises  such  as  that  which  has  now  come  in  the  history  of 
"  our  city,  and  I  think  I  may  be  forgiven  if  I  add  in  your  own  career, 
"  demand  great  acts. 

*  I  cannot  believe  that  you  will  disdain  an  opportunity  so  unique 
"  as  that  which  now  confronts  you  for  action  worthy  of  your  office,  your 
"  citizenship,  your  manhood. 

"  I  am,  sir,  respectfully  yours, 

u  HENRY  C.  POTTER. 
"Bishop  of  New  Yo.';."' 

Testifying  before  the  Industrial  Commission  in  Washington  on 
November  15th,  1900,  Dr.  David  Blaustein,  superintendent  of  the  Edu- 
cational Alliance,  the  work  of  which  is  among  the  people  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan,  said  that  in  recent  years  immorality 
had  secured  a  hold  in  the  tenement  houses  of  New  York  never  before 
known;  that  children  were  used  as  agents  for  dissolute  women,  and  that 
it  was  impossible  to  suppress  the  practices  because  of  corruption  in  the 
police  force. 

On  November  17th,  1900,  the  Evening  Post  said:  "  The  portrayal  of 
"  conditions  in  the  tenement  houses  by  Bishop  Potter  was  in  terms  so 
"  plain  as  to  appeal  to  persons  whose  ears  have  long  been  hardened  to 
"  the  recital ;  but  beyond  a  few  protestations  of  zeal  on  the  part  of  some 
"  officers  involved,  and  profanity  or  indifference  at  the  mention  of  the 
"  Bishop's  name  from  others,  no  open  sincere  action  was  taken,  and 
"  crime  and  vice  apparently  will  continue  as  before,  and  the  criminals 

[376] 


COMMITTEE  OF  FIVE 


-7 


"  will  be  made  to  pay  heavier  tribute  for  the  obloquy  heaped  on  their 
"  official  sponsors." 

When  Devery  was  asked  what  he  had  to  say  he  queried :  "  Touchin' 
on  what  ?  " 

"  About  Bishop  Potter's  letter  to  the  Mayor." 

"  I  won't  say  anythin'  about  that.  I  ain't  got  nuthin'  to  say.  When 
"  I  have  I'll  send  for  you." 

Richard  Croker,  however,  recognized  that  it  was  time  to  "  pander 
somewhat  of  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  community."  He  hurriedly 
called  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  of  Tammany  Hall  for  the 
evening  of  November  15th.  At  that  meeting  he  informed  the  commit- 
tee that  there  was  vice  in  the  city,  and  said  that  Tammany  must  ferret 
out  any  of  its  members  who  were  profiting  by  the  alliance  with  vice. 
By  pre-concerted  arrangement,  Lewis  Nixon  moved  for  the  appointment 
of  a  Committee  of  Five.  The  Committee  of  Five  was  appointed  under 
the  following  resolution  adopted  on  that  day  by  the  Executive  Committee 
of  Tammany  Hall : 

"  RESOLVED,  That  the  chairman,  be  empowered  to  appoint  a  Com- 
"  mittee  of  Five  to  act  with  any  citizens  or  committee  of  citizens,  for  the 
'  purpose  of  investigating  the  moral  conditions  of  the  city,  and  for  re- 
"  ceiving  suggestions  and  remedies  for  the  correction  of  abuses ;  the 
"  committee  to  have  the  full  power  of  the  organization  to  act." 

At  the  meeting  at  which  this  resolution  was  adopted  Mr.  Croker 
introduced  Mr.  Isidor  Straus,  president  of  the  Educational  Alliance. 
Mr.  Straus  explained  that  the  work  of  the  Educational  Alliance  was 
directed  to  improving  the  conditions  of  the  Jewish  population  of  the 
east  side  of  Manhattan  Borough.  "  We  try  to  reach  every  man,  woman 
"and  child;  and  try  to  make  them  better,  with  the  especial  object  of 
a  making  them  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  American  citizenship." 

*  *  *  "We  have  in  recent  years  experienced  a  difficulty  which 
"  threatens  to  infuse  poison  into  the  very  fountain  head  of  righteous- 
"  ness.  I  refer  to  the  immorality  in  the  tenement  houses  and  the  rni- 
"  morality  in  the  streets  of  our  city;  the  manner  in  which  boys  and  girls 
"are  threatened  with  the  temptations  held  out  to  them  on  every  side." 

*  *  *  "  When  I  told  Richard  Croker  of  this  condition  he  was  greatly 
"  surprised,  and  I  was  surprised  at  his  ready  desire  to  come  to  our  aid." 

*  *    *    "  The  charge  has  been  made  that  the  greater  part  of  the 

[377] 


28 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  revenue  of  Tammany  Hall  was  from  the  people  in  evil  conditions  of 
"  life,  and  that  no  good  could  be  accomplished  in  this  city  until  the 
"  power  of  Tammany  Hall  was  destroyed."  *  *  *  "  Mr.  Croker  said 
"  to  me  that  no  Tammany  Hall  office-holder,  or  any  other  man  acting 
"  under  the  authority  of  Tammany  Hall,  gave  any  protection  or  in  any 
"  way  fostered,  nurtured,  or  harbored  this  kind  or  any  other  kind  of 
"crime  or  immorality;  and  that  he  would  give  his  aid  and  go  as  far  as 
"  any  citizen  in  punishing  the  guilty  persons,  and  in  neutralizing  the 
terrible  charge." 

After  Mr.  Straus  had  spoken,  the  resolution  quoted  abov  ftCS 
passed;  and  Daniel  F.  McMahon,  chairman  of  the  executive  comiii  ttee, 
appointed  the  following  committee  under  the  resolution: 

Lewis  Nixon,  John  W.  Keller,  commissioner  of  charities;  George 
C.  Clausen,  president  of  the  park  department ;  Michael  C.  Murphy,  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  health,  and  John  J.  Scannell,  fire  commissioner. 

After  the  appointment  of  the  committee,  Mr.  Croker,  addressing  the 
executive  committee,  said: 

"  I  have  nothing  to  add  to  what  has  been  said  to  you  by  Mr.  Strauss, 
"  because  he  is  familiar  with  the  matters  about  which  he  has  made  state- 
"  ments  to  you.  I  hope  that  this  entire  committee  will  give  its  full 
"  strength  toward  helping  him  and  his  work.  I  am  not  talking  for  polit- 
"  ical  effect.  I  am  talking  of  what  you  ought  to  do  as  good  citizens,  and 
"  I  am  satisfied  that  this  committee  will  do  its  full  duty;  that  it  will  work 
"  until  it  succeeds,  and  shows  to  those  who  prefer  charges  against  us 
"  that  this  organization  is  not  responsible  for  crime,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
"  is  its  greatest  foe." 

Immediately  after  this  meeting  Mayor  Van  Wyck  addressed  the 
board  of  police  commissioners  as  follows:  "I  wish  it  distinctly  under- 
"  stood  that  to  this  end  I  shall  use  to  the  utmost  limits  all  the  power 
"  vested  in  me,  and  that  I  shall  hold  to  a  personal  responsibility  those 
"  who  fail  to  exert  themselves  in  like  manner." 

The  conditions,  however,  did  not  change.  The  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce decided  to  take  action.  On  November  23d,  1900,  it  appointed  a 
Committee  of  Fifteen  to  take  measures  to  suppress  the  vicious  conditions, 
and  to  bring  the  guilty  to  justice.  The  committee  was  composed  as 
follows : 

[378] 


COMMITTEE  OF  FIFTEEN 


*9 


Jas.  A.  Carter, 


Jacob  H.  Schiff, 
John  Harson  Rhoades, 


John  S.  Kennedy, 
Felix  Adler, 


Alfred  T.  White, 
Joel  B.  Erhardt, 


Chas.  Sprague  Smith, 
G.  F.  Peabody, 
Wm.  H.  Baldwin,  Jr., 
Alex.  E.  Orr, 
Adrian  Iselin,  Jr., 
Rev.  W.  L.  Paddock, 
R.  Dell  Forest, 


F.  D.  Tappan. 


On  December  19th,  1900,  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  declared  its  pur- 
pose to  be,  in  part,  **  To  institute  a  searching  inquiry,  uninfluenced  by 
"  partisan  considerations,  into  the  causes  of  the  present  alarming  in- 
"  crease  of  gambling  and  the  social  evil  in  this  city,  and  to  collect  such 
"  evidence  as  shall  establish  the  connection  between  existing  conditions 
"  and  those  who,  in  the  last  analysis,  are  responsible  for  these  condi- 
"  tions." 

A  severe  blow  to  Tammany  was  the  removal  by  Gov.  Roosevelt  on 
December  22d,  1900,  of  District  Attorney  Gardiner,  and  the  appointment 
in  his  place  of  Mr.  Eugene  A.  Philbin.  Tammany  thus  lost  the  pro- 
tecting influence  of  the  machinery  of  criminal  administration. 

On  December  1st,  1900,  the  Evening  Post  published  an  interview 
with  Martin  Engel,  the  Tammany  leader  in  the  eighth  assembly  district, 
the  "red-light  district,"  in  which  Engel  said,  "  Vice?  Why,  there  ain't 
"  no  vice  here.  Youse  fellows  write  me  up  and  call  me  names  when  you 
"  have  no  right  to.    But  I  don't  care." 

On  December  2d  the  Central  Labor  Union  passed  this  resolution: 

"  RESOLVED,  that  the  Central  Labor  Union  is  fully  in  sympathy 
"  with  the  movement  being  carried  out  in  the  present  vice  crusade,  and 
"  we  hope  that  it  will  result  in  driving  glaring  vice  out  of  the  City." 

In  charging  the  grand  jury  of  New  York  County  on  December  3d, 
Judge  Warren  W.  Foster  said: 

"  It  is  rumored  and  suggested  and  stated  in  the  public  press  of  our 
"  city  and  county,  that  there  exist  many  vicious  resorts  and  other  dis- 
"  orderly  places,  and  that  their  existence  is  owing,  perhaps,  in  large 
"measure  to  official  corruption.  If  this  be  so,  these  are  crimes  that 
"  it  is  your  bounden  and  sworn  duty  to  inquire  into  and  present  to  the 


[379] 


3° 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  court,  and  the  court  will  in  every  way  endeavor  to  aid  you  in  such 
"  inquiry." 

On  December  5th,  The  City  Club  adopted  resolutions  which  declared 
that  "  the  disgraceful  conditions  existing  in  our  city  would  be  impos- 
"  sible  under  an  administration  honestly  desirous  of  enforcing  the  laws." 

On  December  6th,  the  Reform  Club  adopted  resolutions  declaring 
that,  "  The  political  faction  in  power  in  this  city  has  failed  to  perform 
"  most  of  the  administrative  promises  made  by  it  when  it  assumed  office 
"  in  January,  1898.  It  has  by  conniving  at  the  violation  of  the  law  and 
"  by  receiving  tribute  from  the  violators  brought  the  city  to  a  condition 
"  in  which  it  was  pointed  out  as  an  evidence  of  the  incompetency  of 
"  Democracy  to  govern  municipalities." 

On  December  8th  the  Evening  Post  published  interviews  with  ex- 
Mayor  Abram  S.  Hewitt,  ex-Mayor  Smith  Ely,  ex-Mayor  Edward 
Cooper,  and  ex-Mayor  Thomas  F.  Gilroy,  upon  the  condition  of  police 
administration.  They  all  agreed  that  the  condition  was  worse  than 
during  their  respective  terms  of  office. 

On  December  8th,  1900,  the  board  of  police  sent  to  Mayor  Van 
Wyck  a  report  of  the  inquiry  made  by  the  board  into  the  charges  of 
brutality  on  the  part  of  the  police  in  the  August  riots.  The  report  was 
to  the  effect  that  the  board  had  not  been  able  to  get  evidence  upon  which 
action  against  any  members  of  the  police  force  would  be  warranted. 

[NOTE.  —  On  August  12th  a  policeman  was  killed  by  a  negro  in 
the  street  at  41st  Street  and  Eighth  Avenue.  The  feeling  among  the 
police  was  bitter  against  the  negroes.  Upon  August  15th  rumors  of 
possible  violence  are  said  to  have  been  circulated  in  the  part  of  the  city 
which,  in  fact,  became  the  scene  of  riot  that  night.  The  agreement  of 
many  witnesses,  including  newspaper  reporters,  members  of  The  City 
Club,  and  other  white  people,  seems  to  establish  these  facts:  (1)  That 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  night  the  territory  bounded  by  34th  Street, 
Broadway,  42d  Street  and  Eighth  Avenue  was  in  a  state  of  tumult  be- 
cause of  the  innumerable  attacks  made  by  mobs  upon  colored  people; 
(2)  that  the  police  made  practically  no  effort  to  arrest  or  disperse  the 
mobs,  except  in  one  or  two  cases  in  which  Broadway  hotels  were  in- 
vaded in  the  hunt  for  colored  men;  (3)  that  the  police  made  but  little 
effort  to  protect  the  negroes;  (4)  that  the  police  clubbed  many  inof- 
fensive negroes  in  the  streets,  and  some  in  the  police  station  house.] 

[380] 


MAYOR  VAN  WYCK'S  INACTION 


3? 


On  January  4th,  1901,  the  Evening  Sun  printed  an  article  of  over  a 
page,  setting  forth  in  convincing  detail  the  evil  conditions  existing  on 
the  lower  east  side  of  Manhattan  Borough. 

On  January  8th,  1901,  Mr.  Lewis  Nixon,  as  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Five,  spoke  of  the  "  combine  "  which  had  for  years  levied 
blackmail  on  gambling  houses  and  other  illegal  resorts ;  and  said  that  he 
would  not  deny  that  the  "  combine  "  included  "  men  high  in  the  councils 
of  Tammany  Hall." 

On  February  16th  it  was  announced  in  the  newspapers  that  District 
Attorney  Philbin  would  not  submit  to  the  February  grand  jury  the  evi- 
dence obtained  by  the  Tammany  Committee  of  Five. 

On  February  17th  in  a  speech  publicly  delivered  Mr.  Nixon  said, 
Despite  adverse  criticism  (due,  maybe,  to  partisan  or  political  reasons) 
"  I  believe  that  New  York  is  to-day  the  best  governed  city  in  the  world." 

The  city  charter  of  1897  said:  "  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Mayor  " 
*  *  *  "to  keep  himself  informed  of  the  doings  of  the  several  de- 
"  partments ;"  *  *  *  "  to  be  vigilant  and  active  in  causing  the  ordi- 
M  nances  of  the  city  and  laws  of  the  state  to  be  executed  and  enforced, 
"  and  for  that  purpose  he  may  call  together  for  consultation  and  co- 
"  operation  any  or  all  of  the  heads  of  departments." 

It  was  not  on  record  that  Mayor  Yan  YVyck  ever  called  together 
any  heads  of  departments  for  consultation  or  co-operation. 

On  January  15th,  190 1,  when  the  city  was  full  of  scandals  about  the 
corrupt  alliance  between  crime  and  the  police,  when  both  the  Committee 
of  Fifteen  and  the  Committee  of  Five  were  hard  at  work,  Mayor  Van 
Wyjck  sent  to  the  municipal  assembly  his  annual  message,  in  which  he 
uted  the  financial  burdens  of  the  city  to  "the  orgy  of  financial 
agance  which  was  indulged  in  prior  to  consolidation."  The  mes- 
sage id  not  contain  any  reference  to  the  subject  of  police  blackmail  nor 
to  the  other  matters  with  which  the  Committee  of  Five  and  the  Com- 
mittee of  Fifteen  were  concerned. 

On  February  13th  Mayor  Van  Wyck  said  publicly,  "  We  have  the 
best  chief  of  police  that  New  York  has  ever  had  in  all  its  history." 

On  February  18th,  upon  evidence  furnished  by  the  Tammany  Com- 
mittee of  Five,  a  raid  directed  by  District  Attorney  Philbin,  and  Justice 
Jerome  of  the  Court  of  Special  Sessions,  was  made  upon  a  notorious 
pool-room  on  the  second  and  third  floors  of  number  20  Dey  street.  The 

[33i] 


32 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


fact  that  the  raid  was  to  be  made  was  successfully  concealed  from  the 
police.  Reginald  Levien,  reputed  to  be  the  proprietor,  and  two  others 
were  arrested;  and  about  seventy  men  found  in  the  place  were  served 
with  subpoenas.  Among  these  was  Maurice  F.  Holahan,  president  of  the 
board  of  public  improvements.  He  was  much  agitated,  and  begged  that 
his  identity  should  be  concealed.  He  explained  his  presence  in  the  place 
by  saying  that  he  was  in  search  of  a  "  wayward  relative." 

By  an  act  passed  by  the  legislature  and  signed  on  February  22,  1901, 
by  Governor  Odell,  the  bi-partisan  board  of  police  commissioners  and  the 
position  of  chief  of  police  were  abolished  and  the  administration  of  the 
department  was  vested  in  a  single  commissioner.  Mayor  Van  Wyck 
appointed  Michael  C.  Murphy,  and  Murphy  immediately  appointed  Devery 
as  his  first  deputy  commissioner.  Murphy  delegated  to  Devery  all  the 
powers  of  commissioner  that  the  law  allowed  him  to  transfer. 

On  February  26th,  1901,  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  caused  several 
gambling  houses  between  Twenty-second  street  and  Forty-second  street 
to  be  raided.  In  the  Evening  Post  the  next  day  Commissioner  Murphy 
was  quoted  as  saying: 

"  I  have  ordered  all  the  captains  to  prepare  the  April  report  con- 
"  taming  all  the  places  in  their  precincts  in  which  the  law  is  being  vio- 
"  lated  or  suspected  of  being  violated,  and  I  will  get  those  lists  Friday 
"  morning.  All  these  places  will  have  to  close  up.  No  matter  who  says 
"  otherwise.   They  must  obey  the  law." 

On  February  28th  Commissioner  Murphy  declared  to  the  newspaper 
reporters  that  he  had  taken  special  measures  to  discover  gambling  houses 
in  operation.  He  was  quoted  as  saying :  "  I  am  going  to  purify  the  city 
"  so  that  it  will  be  clean  and  wholesome.  I  believe  that  we  can  put  New 
"  York  on  a  basis  where  we  can  be  proud  of  it.  The  police  are  working 
in  harmony  with  the  District  Attorney,  who  has  furnished  a  list  of  al- 
leged unlawful  places." 

These,  Mr.  Murphy  added,  were  "  under  investigation." 

On  March  nth  Commissioner  Murphy  was  quoted  in  the  New  York 
Times  as  saying  that  he  intended  to  raid  pool-rooms  and  gambling  houses, 
and  that  within  two  weeks  not  one  such  place  would  be  left  in  the  city. 
"  T  will  show  the  people  of  this  city  that  I  am  entitled  to  their  confi- 
"  dence." 

[382) 


ILLEGAL  RESORTS  RAIDED 


33 


On  April  12th  Commissioner  Murph)r  summoned  all  the  police  cap- 
tains to  a  conference  at  headquarters.  After  the  conference  he  told  the 
reporters  that  he  had  instructed  the  captains  to  see  that  all  the  pool- 
rooms and  gambling  places  were  kept  closed,  and  had  threatened  to 
"  break  "any  captain  who  did  not  carry  out  these  instructions. 

On  March  17th  a  mass  meeting  of  women  at  Carnegie  Hall  passed 
resolutions  denouncing  the  connection  between  law-breakers  and  the 
police. 

On  March  23d  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  addressed  to  Governor 
Odell  a  letter  declaring  that  the  law  proposed  by  the  tenement  house 
commission  was  necessary  as  an  aid  to  the  suppression  of  prostitution 
in  the  tenement  houses. 

On  March  23d  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  raided  several  "  dives  " 
frequented  by  men  and  women,  some  in  the  "  tenderloin,"  and  some  on 
the  lower  east  side.    A  number  of  prisoners  were  taken. 

On  March  25th,  upon  the  evidence  secured  by  the  Committee  of 
Fifteen,  the  grand  jury  of  New  York  County  found  three  indictments 
for  keeping  gambling  houses,  and  three  for  bookmaking. 

On  the  15th  of  April,  1901,  the  New  York  Tribune  quoted  Commis- 
sioner Murphy  as  saying: 

"  When  Chairman  Baldwin  signed  his  report,  saying  that  in  125 
"  tenement  houses  which  were  examined  by  the  Fifteen's  agents,  and  in 
"  which  disorderly  persons  were  living,  there  were  found  in  each  house 
"  on  an  average  of  twenty-four  children  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
"  he  must  have  been  grossly  misinformed  and  imposed  upon  by  the  agents 
"  of  his  committee.  There  are  not  125  tenement  houses  in  all  New  York 
"  where  disorderly  women  are  living  alongside  respectable  families,  and 
M  I  will  bet  Mr.  Baldwin  anything  up  to  $200  that  there  is  not  one  such 
"  tenement  house  between  the  Battery  and  14th  street." 

On  April  17th  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  raided  several  pool-rooms 
and  found  them  in  operation. 

On  April  17th  the  New  York  Times  reported  that,  as  a  result  of  the 
opening  of  the  local  racing  season,  many  pool-rooms  were  doing  business 
quietly.  The  Times  quoted  Police  Commissioner  Murphy  as  saying  that 
no  pool- rooms  were  open. 

On  April  18th,  1901,  Police  Commissioner  Murphy  was  quoted 
in  the  newspapers  as  saying  that  pool-rooms  were  not  open,  and  that  he 

[383] 


34 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


did  not  believe  that  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  had  raided  any  open  pool- 
room. 

In  a  newspaper  interview  on  April  18th,  Commissioner  Murphy  said: 
"  As  for  this  Committee  of  Fifteen  business,  it's  a  matter  of  politics. 
"  If  there  weren't  an  election  of  Mayor  on  in  the  near  future  you  wouldn't 
"  have  any  Committee  of  Fifteen,  and  you  wouldn't  have  any  of  this 
"  raiding  of  places  that  there's  no  evidence  to  show  are  pool-rooms.  The 
"  fact  that  there's  a  collection  of  men  anywhere  proves  nothing.'' 
"  What  sort  of  proof  do  you  require  ?  " 

"  They  haven't  arrested  anyone  in  the  act  of  buying  or  selling  a 
"pool,  whatever  that  may  be,  have  they?  That's  the  only  kind  of  evi- 
"  dence  upon  which  I'd  put  a  man  under  arrest." 

"  What  about  the  statement  made  by  a  member  of  the  Committee 
"  of  Fifteen  that  a  place  at  Eighth  avenue  and  Fourteenth  street  was 
"  '  tipped  '  by  policeman  Hughes  or  Captain  Moynihan  ?  " 

"  I  don't  believe  that  any  such  thing  was  done.  If  they  found  noth- 
"  ing  at  the  place  that  was  because  there  was  nothing  there  to  find.  I 
"  am  convinced  that  the  Captain  and  his  detectives  have  done  their  duty." 

"Was  anything  said  about  the  incident  to  either  of  them?" 

"  No,  nothing  was  said  or  done.  The  written  report  from  the  Cap- 
"  tain  did  not,  of  course,  take  cognizance  of  the  alleged  incident.  I  did 
"  not  recognize  it.  It's  not  a  police  incident,  and  hence  I  didn't  take 
"  cognizance  of  it.    I  don't  believe  any  such  thing  occurred  anyway." 

"  Have  the  captains  reported  the  places  that  were  raided  last  night 
"  as  pool-rooms  in  the  past?  " 

"  The  captains  haven't  reported  them  as  such.  I  don't  think  they 
"  were  ever  suspected." 

On  April  18th  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  raided  ten  "  dives,"  and 
arrested  several  of  the  proprietors.  Among  the  places  raided  was  a 
music  hall  run  by  Alderman  Frederick  F.  Fleck  at  104  Bowery.  Fleck's 
father,  John  W.  Fleck,  was  serving  as  a  member  of  the  April  grand  jury. 
The  Evening  Post  reported  the  following  questions  by  a  reporter  and 
answers  by  Commissioner  Murphy: 

"  Have  the  fifty-five  raids  made  by  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  and 
"  other  reform  bodies  convinced  you  that  gambling  and  vice  exist  to 
"  any  extent  and  that  any  of  the  police  captains  have  neglected  their 
"duty?" 

L384I 


COMMITTEE  OF  FIFTEEN'S  WORK 


35 


"  No,  sir;  not  at  all." 

"  How  do  you  expect  these  raids  to  result  politically  ?  " 

"  Every  one  of  them  is  making  votes  for  Tammany. 

On  April  12th  Police  Commissioner  Murphy  was  quoted  in  the  New 
York  Times  as  saying  that  the  best  way  to  punish  members  of  the  police 
force  was  to  transfer  them.    "  They  hate  to  lose  their  graft,"  he  said. 

On  April  29th  the  Evening  Post  published  the  following  list  of  places 
which  had  been  raided  through  the  efforts  of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen, 
and  other  agencies  outside  of  the  police  department,  with  the  names  of 
the  police  captains  in  whose  precincts  the  places  were: 

GAMBLING  HOUSES  AND  POOL  ROOMS 

Capt.  Thomas — No.  116  West  42d  street,  No.  118  West  35th  street, 
No.  24  West  31st  street,  No.  104  West  38th  street,  No.  108  West  31st 
street,  No.  109  West  31st  street,  No.  128  West  36th  street,  No.  172  West 
32d  street  and  No.  15  West  32d  street. 

Capt.  Donahue — No.  148  West  43d  street  and  No.  104  West  43d 
street. 

Capt.  Chapman — No.  80  Sixth  avenue  and  No.  63  West  36th  street. 
Capt.  Albert-son — No.  43  Mercer  street. 
Capt.  Kear — No.  132a  West  79th  street. 

Capt.  Thompson — No.  42  Bond  street,  14th  street  and  Eighth  avenue, 
No.  86  Sixth  avenue  and  No.  24  East  8th  street. 
Capt.  Vredenburgh — No.  10  Madison  street. 
Capt.  Flood — No.  117  West  23d  street. 

Capt.  Foody — No.  313  Canal  street  and  No.  81  Mercer  street. 
Capt.  Diamond — No.  216  East  14th  street. 
Capt.  Creamer — No.  50  Bond  street. 

DISORDERLY  RESORTS 

Capt.  Chapman — The  Pekin,  West  35th  street;  the  Berlin,  West 
29th  street;  the  Savoy,  West  29th  street;  Royal  Garden,  28th  street  and 
6th  avenue. 

Capt.  Diamond — Second  avenue  and  5th  street,  No.  284  East  Houston 
street,  No.  291  Bowery,  No.  303  Bowery  and  No.  no  3d  avenue. 
Capt.  Albertson — No.  98  Avenue  C. 
Capt.  Donahue — 59th  street  and  Eighth  avenue. 

[385] 


3* 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


Capt.  Cooney — No.  390  Eighth  avenue  and  No.  562  Seventh  avenue. 
Capt.  Stevenson  —  No.  106  Bowery. 
Capt.  Walsh  —  No.  253  Bowery. 

Capt.  Flood — Haymarket.  Sixth  avenue  and  30th  street;  Bohemia, 
No.  45  West  29th  street;  Alhambra,  No.  37  West  28th  street;  Cairo, 
No.  34  West  29th  street;  Empire,  No.  38  West  29th  street. 

ILLEGAL   RESORTS  CONTINUE   "WIDE  OPEN  " 

Late  in  the  evening  of  April  30th  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  raided 
four  gambling  places,  taking  a  number  of  prisoners  and  many  gambling 
instruments. 

"  The  "  Allen,  the  gambler,  was  reported  to  have  said  on  May  14th, 
"  The  police  are  not  like  the  police  of  old  days.  In  the  old  days  the 
"  police  didn't  want  to  take  the  shirt  off  your  back.  All  the  captains 
"  expected  was  a  present  on  their  birthday,  or  at  Christmas  or  on 
"  New  Year's.  It  wasn't  like  it  is  now,  when  people  are  held  up  for 
"  ninety  dollars  out  of  every  hundred  dollars  they  take  in." 

On  May  15th  Police  Commissioner  Murphy  being  asked  what  he 
had  to  say  as  to  Allen's  statement,  said :  "  I've  taken  the  position  here 
"  all  along  that  there  wasn't  any  gambling  in  New  York.  The  news- 
"  papers  say  different.  That's  the  way  it  is.  I  can  only  say  what  I've 
"  said  right  along." 

On  June  20th,  before  Judge  Warren  Foster  in  the  Court  of  General 
Sessions,  three  gamblers,  taken  in  a  raid  of  the  Committee  of  Fifteen 
on  the  gambling  house  at  111  East  14th  Street,  pleaded  guilty  to  a 
charge  of  aiding  in  the  running  of  the  house,  and  were  sentenced  to  ten 
days'  imprisonment. 

On  July  24th  the  New  York  Times  contained  a  long  article  describ- 
ing in  detail  the  open  operation  of  several  poolrooms  in  Long  Island 
City.    The  article  was  in  part  as  follows :  — 

"  The  poolrooms  in  Long  Island  City  were  open  yesterday  afternoon 
"  and  doing  a  lively  business.  Runners  met  every  ferryboat  from  Man- 
"  hattan.  Cappers  had  distributed  small  cards  to  people  along  the  street, 
"  informing  them  of  the  location  of  the  gambling  places. 

"  During  the  hours  in  which  bets  can  be  made  on  the  races  the  trolley 
"  cars  were  packed  to  the  guards  with  bettors.  The  cars  were  run  up 
"  in  front  of  the  gambling  places  and  then  the  crowd  thronged  in  the 

[386] 


TAMMANY  AND  POOLROOMS 


37 


"  barn-like  structures  which  had  been  put  up  recently  to  accommodate 
"  the  thousands  who  are  expected  to  make  Long  Island  City  their  after- 
"  noon  headquarters  unless  the  police  and  the  Queens  County  officials 
"  close  the  places  up." 

A  New  York  Times  reporter  went  there,  and  within  five  minutes 
after  his  arrival  he  was  accosted  by  a  Tammany  city  official  who  held 
a  job  in  the  City  Hall  in  Manhattan. 

"  You  are  not  going  to  write  us  up,  are  you  ?  "  questioned  this  of- 
ficial. "  If  the  newspapers  let  us  alone  for  three  weeks  we'll  be  coin- 
"  ing  money  all  right.    That's  the  only  thing  that  will  stop  this  game." 

"  Who's  running  the  business  over  here  now?"  he  was  asked. 

"  Why,  the  Tammany  Hall  people,"  was  the  reply.  "  There's  a 
"  big  district  leader  in  Tammany  Hall  who  has  got  the  game  over  here, 
"  and  if  we're  only  let  alone  for  a  little  while  things  will  boom." 

"Don't  you  expect  police  interference?" 

"  No.    Everything's  all  right." 

"  But  there  was  a  poolroom  raided  here  a  few  days  ago." 

"  Oh,  that  was  Dick  Cook's  place.  He  started  down  below  the  dead 
"  line.  You  know  the  arrangement  was  that  there  should  be  no  pool- 
"  rooms  below  the  line  of  the  court  house  and  toward  the  New  York 
"  ferries.  Cook  opened  a  poolroom  down  in  the  old  car  stables,  and 
"  the  police  raided  the  place,  because  he  did  not  see  the  right  people  in 
"  Tammany  Hall." 

The  Times  of  the  same  day  quoted  Police  Commissioner  Murphy 
as  declaring  that  the  statements  of  the  reporters  as  to  the  conditions  in 
Long  Island  City  were  false.  "  I  have  every  evidence  from  Inspector 
"  Clayton,  who  has  charge  of  the  Queens  County  district,  that  such  a 
"  condition  of  affairs  does  not  exist." 

"  But  such  conditions,  Commissioner,  were  found  to  exist  by  re- 
a  porters  for  the  Times." 

"  I  don't  care.  They  may  have  worked  their  way  into  some  places 
"  and  got  a  false  impression.  There  is  no  open  pool  selling  in  Long 
"  Island  City,  as  you  state." 

In  June  Police  Commissioner  Murphy  amended  the  rules  of  the  po- 
lice department  so  as  to  provide  "  That  the  buttons  to  be  worn  on  the 
"  uniforms  of  the  force  shall  be  a  shell  of  the  best  gilding  material 
"  known  as  Prince's  metal  oreide,  extra  heavy,  double-plated  by  the 

[387] 


3§ 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  fire  gilding  or  the  amalgamating  process  with  24-karat  fine  gold." 
The  button  covered  by  this  regulation  is  patented,  and  it  was  estimated 
by  the  New  York  World  that  the  expense  involved  for  each  member 
of  the  police  force  would  be  from  nine  to  fifteen  dollars,  perhaps  fifty 
thousand  dollars  being  paid  in  the  aggregate.  The  charter  provided : 
"  No  patented  article  shall  be  advertised  for,  contracted  for  or  purchased, 
"  except  under  such  circumstances  that  there  can  be  a  fair  and  reason- 
"  able  opportunity  for  competition,  the  conditions  to  secure  which  shall 
"  be  prescribed  by  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment."  Inves- 
tigation disclosed  the  fact  that  the  button  was  the  invention  of  the  wife 
of  a  friend  of  Commissioner  Murphy. 

On  June  13th,  1901,  George  Bissert,  "  wardman  "  attached  to  the 
Fifth  Street  police  station,  was  arrested  charged  with  extorting  money 
from  Mrs.  Lina  Schmidt,  keeper  of  a  disorderly  house  in  Stuyvesant 
Street,  under  the  promise  of  police  protection. 

In  opposing  before  Justice  Blanchard  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
July  a  motion  for  the  removal  of  the  Bissert  case  from  the  court  of 
general  sessions  to  the  criminal  branch  of  the  Supreme  Court,  District 
Attorney  Philbin  said,  "  This  matter  must  be  tried  quickly,  or  no  matter 
"  how  strong  my  evidence,  I  will  be  unable  to  gain  a  verdict  against 
"  the  accused.  Most  of  my  witnesses  are  in  the  House  of  Detention. 
"  The  police  have  free  access  to  that  place.  There  is  no  way  in  which 
"  I  can  keep  those  witnesses  from  the  police.  Unless  there  is  a  quick 
"  trial,  I  fear  the  witnesses  will  be  tampered  with." 

Bissert  and  Captain  Diamond  of  that  precinct  were  both  found 
guilty,  Bissert  of  felony  and  Diamond  of  neglect  of  duty.  Bissert  was 
sentenced  to  five  and  a  half  years  in  state  prison  and  to  pay  a  fine  of 
one  thousand  dollars,  and  Diamond  was  fined  one  thousand  dollars, 
which  sentence  carried  with  it  dismissal  from  the  force. 

On  August  9th  Edgar  A.  Whitney  and  Ernest  Bergdortf  were  ar- 
rested upon  complaint  of  agents  of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 
Crime,  upon  a  charge  of  conspiracy  and  aiding  and  abetting  gambling. 

A  report  made  by  Dillon,  one  of  the  agents  of  the  Society,  contained 
a  full  statement  of  his  dealings  with  Whitney.  Whitney,  representing 
himself  as  the  agent  of  a  combination  of  gamblers,  had  proposed  to 
Dillon,  that  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  month,  Dillon  should 
keep  him  informed  of  the  plans  of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 

[3S8] 


WHITNEY'S  CONFESSION 


39 


Crime,  for  raids,  etc.  Dillon  had  pretended  to  acquiesce,  and  had  then 
proceeded  under  the  instructions  of  the  officers  of  the  Society.  He  had 
received  from  Whitney  a  list  of  forty-five  gambling  places  to  which  he 
was  expected  to  send  tips  of  any  proposed  raids.  He  had  been  instructed 
by  Whitney  that  tips  could  be  sent  by  telephone  through  police  head- 
quarters or  through  the  police  station  house  of  the  precinct  in  which 
the  raid  was  to  be  made.  It  would  only  be  necessary  to  use  Whitney's 
name.  If  any  headquarters  operator  refused  to  make  any  telephone 
connection  which  Dillon  required,  Dillon  was  to  call  the  "  Chief." 
"  Whitney  said  he  had  had  Chief  Devery  give  orders  to  the  operators 
"  a  few  days  before  to  make  any  connections  desired  by  Mr.  Whitney." 
Upon  several  occasions  Dillon  had  given  warning  by  telephone  to  police 
headquarters  or  to  precinct  station  houses,  and  in  all  those  cases  the 
places  were  promptly  closed. 

On  August  8th  the  final  test  of  Whitney's  system  was  applied  by 
the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Crime.  An  alarm  to  thirty  or  forty 
poolrooms  was  sent  by  telephone  through  police  headquarters.  Within 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  agents  of  the  Society  who  were  on  watch  saw 
a  general  exodus  of  all  the  persons  in  those  poolrooms,  carrying  with 
them  the  paraphernalia  of  the  business. 

Whitney  and  Bergdorff  were  held  by  Justice  Jerome  in  $5,000  bail 
each.  Whitney  made  a  full  written  confession  before  Judge  Jerome 
which  was  not  made  public  until  the  21st. 

Police  Commissioner  Murphy  told  the  reporters  that  he  had  "  no 
official  information  "  as  to  the  exposures  made  by  the  Society  for  the 
Prevention  of  Crime,  but  that  he  would  investigate  the  matter,  and 
"  go  to  the  very  bottom."  Deputy  Commissioner  Devery  was  not  in 
the  city. 

On  August  2 1  st  the  confession  of  Edgar  A.  Whitney  was  printed 
in  the  newspapers.  It  narrated  in  detail  how  in  May,  1901,  Whitney 
had  arranged  with  Patrolman  Edward  A.  Glennon,  "  wardman,"  to  un- 
dertake to  procure  from  an  agent  of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of 
Crime,  information  as  to  proposed  raids  on  gambling  places  and  disor- 
derly houses.  The  lists  of  places  to  be  protected,  which  Whitney  sub- 
sequently gave  to  Dillon,  as  well  as  the  money  which  Whitney  had  paid 
to  Dillon  by  way  of  a  bribe,  were  given  to  Whitney  by  Glennon.  Upon 
receiving  information  from  Dillon  that  the  Society  was  about  to  raid 

[389] 


40 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


the  house  at  No.  147  West  33d  Street,  Whitney  had  telephoned  the 
information  directly  to  Sergeant  Shields  at  the  nineteenth  precinct 

station  house:  and  Shields  had  replied  "All  right/' 

"  The  day  I  wrote  to  Glennon  before  I  went  to  the  station  house, 
"  I  called  up  police  headquarters  in  Mulberry  street  and  asked  the 
"  operator  there  to  give  me  telephonic  connection  with  the  nineteenth 
"  precinct  police  station  house.  The  operator  asked  me  my  name,  and 
"  I  told  him  it  was  Whitney.  He  said  he  could  not  connect  me  as  it  was 
"  against  the  rules  of  the  department.  I  told  him  to  connect  me  with 
"  the  office  of  William  S.  Devery,  the  deputy  commissioner  of  police, 
"  at  300  Mulberry  Street,  which  he  did,  the  said  Devery  coming  to  the 
"  telephone  and  answering.  I  have  known  William  S.  Devery  for  a  long 
"  time,  and  have  conversed  with  him,  and  have  heard  him  talk  to  others, 
''and  am  familiar  with  his  voice;  and  the  voice  that  spoke  to  me  over 
"  the  'phone  I  identified  as  that  of  the  said  Devery. 

"  I  told  Devery  I  was  Whitney,  and  the  operator  had  refused  to  con- 
"  nect  me  with  the  30th  Street  station  house,  and  that  1  would  like  to 
"  be  connected  as  I  had  an  important  communication  to  Eddy  Glennon. 
"  I  then  heard  Devery  call  -  Hello,  downstairs,'  and  then  Devery  said 
"  '  Connect  that  party  whenever  he  wants  you  to.'  "***** 

"  In  one  of  my  conversations  with  Glennon  subsequently  to  my  talk 
"  with  William  S.  Devery  over  the  'phone,  I  told  Glennon  about  my 
"  having  called  up  police  headquarters,  and  that  they  would  not  connect 
"  me  with  the  West  30th  Street  station,  and  that  I  had  called  up  Deputy 
"  Commissioner  Devery  and  had  Devery  connect  me,  and  Glennon  said 
"  '  Yes,  Devery  told  me  about  it.'  " 

On  August  22d  the  grand  jury  of  New  York  County  found  indict- 
ments against  Patrolman  Edward  F.  Glennon,  Ward  Detective  John 
Dwyer  and  Sergeant  John  H.  Shields.  On  the  same  day  Commissioner 
Murphy  revoked  the  order  made  by  him  on  the  21st,  suspending  from 
duty  these  three  officers. 

On  August  28th  Police  Captain  James  Gannon,  of  the  East  22d 
street  station,  was  discovered  in  the  rear  room  of  a  disorderly  house 
known  as  the  Webster  Hotel,  at  140  East  15th  Street,  when  the  house 
was  raided  by  Assistant  District  Attorney  Sanford  and  two  policemen 
upon  warrants  issued  by  Justice  Jerome.  In  May,  1901,  thirty-two  re- 
spectable residents  of  the  neighborhood  had  addressed  to  Captain  Gan- 

[39°] 


POOR  ADMINISTRATION  IN  QUEENS 


non  a  strong  petition,  asking  him  to  abate  the  nuisance  of  disorderly 
women  on  the  block,  and  calling  particular  attention  to  the  Webster  Hotel. 
No  action  was  ever  taken  by  him  in  the  matter.  When  discovered  by 
Mr.  Sanford  in  the  house,  Captain  Gannon  said  that  he  had  followed  his 
men  who  were  with  Mr.  Sanford  to  "  see  what  was  up  " ;  that  the  house 
was  a  perfectly  respectable  one,  against  which  he  had  never  had  a  com- 
plaint; and  that  the  proprietress  was  a  sick  woman.  He  addressed  one 
of  the  women  as  "  Minnie." 

On  September  2d,  in  an  article  four  columns  in  length,  the  New 
York  Times  set  forth  in  detail  the  wretched  administration  of  the  city 
departments  in  the  Borough  of  Queens.    The  article  said,  in  part:  — 

"  The  administration  of  municipal  affairs  in  the  towns  and  villages 
"  which  consolidation  brought  into  the  City  of  New  York  January  1st, 
"  1898,  has  resulted  in  many  complaints  and  remonstrances  being  sent 
M  to  the  New  York  Times  by  just  ordinary  citizens  and  business  men 
"  and  residents  and  property  owners  of  social  and  financial  importance. 
"An  investigation  which  these  letters  warranted  was  made.  It  was 
"  limited  to  what  were  the  villages  of  Flushing  and  Jamaica  and  Queens, 
"  in  Queens  Borough.  It  found  conditions  that  fully  justified  the  com- 
"  munications  which  prompted  it.  A  result  of  more  than  three  years 
"  and  a  half  of  Tammany  service,  maladministration,  red  tape,  cen- 
"  tralization,  irresponsibility,  and  ruling  by  deputy  has  been  to  make  a 
"  large  majority  of  those  who,  by  reason  of  business  ties  or  residence. 
"  come  under  Manhattan  rule  through  the  consolidation  act  to  aid  in 
"  furnishing  means  to  conduct  the  government  of  the  city,  regret  that 
"  they  were  not  left  to  their  honest  and  satisfactory  village  administra- 
"  tions. 

"  The  investigation  failed  to  discover  any  gain  by  consolidation 
"  to  the  annexed  centres  of  population,  and  in  no  instance  was  it  admit- 
"  ted  that  any  factor  in  public  comfort  or  protection  was  in  as  satisfac- 
"  tory  a  condition  as  before  consolidation.  On  the  contrary,  many  of 
"  the  elements  of  comfort  or  safety  were  in  conditions  ranging  from 
"  unsatisfactory  to  distinctly  retrograde.  Criticisms  or  denunciation 
"  was  applied  to  all  the  branches  of  municipal  administration  —  fire 
"  department,  police,  schools,  parks,  water  service,  sanitary  affairs,  street 
"  conditions,  street  sweeping  and  sprinkling,  the  removal  of  house  refuse 
"  and  artificial  lighting.   The  questions  most  discussed  were  the  security 

[39i] 


42 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  of  life  and  property,  and  the  police  and  the  condition  and  cleanliness 
"  of  the  public  thoroughfares." 

"  The  general  opinion  was  that  through  the  operation  of  the  three- 
"  platoon  system  and  the  foisting  of  men  inactive  through  age  or  be- 
"  cause  of  their  having  been  on  detail  duty  on  the  suburbs,  and  the  short- 
"  hand  condition  of  the  Seventy-sixth  and  Seventy-eighth  Precincts, 
"  proper  police  protection  was  not  afforded.  A  result  of  this  was  an  epi- 
"  demic  of  housebreaking  and  other  depredations  and  a  widespread  feeling 
"  of  insecurity  and  apprehensions.  Owing  to  this  women  dislike  the  men 
"  to  leave  their  homes  after  dusk,  and  there  is  a  constant  and  increasing 
"  demand  for  private  watchmen.  The  streets  are  complained  of  as 
"  dilapidated  and  in  need  of  repair,  except  in  the  case  of  Fulton  Street, 
"  Jamaica,  which  was  asphalted  before  consolidation;  the  sidewalks, 
"  curbing,  culverts,  crosswalks,  and  gutters  are  in  a  lamentable  and  often 
"  dangerous  condition ;  street  sprinkling  is  not  done  at  Jamaica  and  is 
"  paid  for  by  citizens  at  Flushing,  and  while  ashes  and  garbage  are  re- 
"  moved  promptly,  this  service  is  rendered  in  a  slipshod  manner,  so  that 
"  the  carts  jolt  part  of  their  loads  on  the  streets.  There  is  no  serious 
"  street  cleaning  in  either  Flushing,  Jamaica,  or  Queens." 

In  a  circular  letter  addressed  to  several  thousand  merchants  early 
in  October,  the  Merchants'  x\ssociation  said:  — 

"  That  the  rank  and  file  of  the  department  are  honest  and  want  to 
"  do  their  duty  is  almost  certain.  Personal  interviews  have  been  had 
"  with  a  large  number  of  officers,  who  admit  that  they  do  not  do  their 
"  duty,  because  intimidated  by  dread  of  punishment  by  the  higher  authori- 
"  ties,  their  commanders  and  others,  who  make  money  by  permitting 
"  crime.  That  crime  is  protected  by  the  officials  of  the  department  is 
"  morally  certain." 

On  October  ist,  in  replying  to  charges  against  Devery  made  by 
the  Merchants'  Association,  Police  Commissioner  Murphy  said:  — 

"  There  has  been  no  question  raised  in  cither  charges  or  specifica- 
"  tions  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  First  Deputy  Commissioner.  He  is 
"  an  officer  of  the  police  force  of  ninny  years'  standing,  and  of  wide 
"experience,  and  he  understands  —  in  my  opinion  —  the  characters  of 
"  the  various  members  of  the  force  and  the  means  to  be  adopted  for 
"  discipline.  The  efficiency  and  integrity  of  the  police  of  this  city  can 
"  only  be  maintained  by  the  enforcement  of  such  discipline," 

T392] 


"GRAFTING"  WITHIN  THE  FORCE 


43 


On  October  3d  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  adopted  the  following 
preamble  and  resolution :  — 

"  Whereas,  There  is  a  widespread  and  well-founded  belief  in  this 
**  city  that  certain  officials  in  the  Police  Department  are  addicted  to  cor- 
14  rupt  practices,  and  are  soliciting  and  receiving  moneys  for  the  wicked 
"  protection  of  vice  and  crime,  thus  encouraging  the  lawless  element  of 
"  this  city  to  the  detriment  of  decent  and  honest  government,  and  to 
"the  endangering  of  life  and  property;  and 

"  Whereas,  The  Charter  of  Greater  New  York  has  conferred  upon 
"  the  mayor  the  high  duty  and  responsibility  of  removing  the  head  of 
"any  department  that  is  incompetent  or  guilty  of  violations  of  law; 
"  therefore,  be  it 

"  Resolved,  That  the  president  of  this  chamber  be  and  hereby  is 
"  directed  to  urge  the  mayor  to  exercise  the  supreme  power  vested  in 
"  him  to  the  end  that  the  reproach  now  universally  resting  upon  the  gov- 
"  ernment  and  good  name  of  this  city  may  be  speedily  removed." 

On  October  6th  the  Committee  of  Fifteen  issued  a  report  on  vice 
in  tenement  houses,  under  date  of  October  1st.  The  Committee  an- 
nounced that  there  were  on  file  in  its  office  sworn  statements  against 
290  separate  apartments  in  237  tenement  houses  in  Manhattan  in  which 
prostitutes  violated  the  Tenement  House  Law.  It  said  further  that  the 
evidence  in  these  statements  was  of  a  character  such  as  had  previously 
secured  conviction  in  similar  cases  tried  in  the  criminal  courts  of  this 
county. 

"  GRAFTING  "  WITHIN  THE  DEPARTMENT 

Under  Tammany  the  general  system  of  blackmail  was  two-fold  in 
scope.  The  force  as  a  force  blackmailed  every  available  kind  of  vice 
and  crime,  and  extorted  tribute  from  all  who  were  in  positions  to  be 
harrassed  by  police  power.  In  turn,  the  ruling  powers  at  headquarters 
"  grafted  "  upon  the  force  itself. 

No  member  of  the  force  could  secure  promotion,  and  no  applicant 
for  appointment  to  the  force  could  secure  the  appointment,  unless  he 
paid  the  specified  sum  expected  from  him. 

A  captain  seeking  promotion  to  the  position  of  inspector  was  ex- 
pected to  pay  from  $15,000  to  $20,000  to  "get  the  goods."  Only  two 
inspectors,  however,  were  appointed  during  the  Tammany  regime,  and 

[393] 


44 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


they  secured  their  appointment  by  the  power  of  certain  powerful  Tam- 
many politicians. 

Sergeants  seeking  promotion  to  the  position  of  captain  had  to  pay 
from  $12,000  to  $15,000.  On  December  27th,  1900,  the  York-Sexton 
board,  after  holding  off  the  appointments  for  a  long  time,  appointed 
sixteen  sergeants  to  the  grade  of  captain  from  a  civil  service  eligible  list. 
In  February,  1901,  three  more  captains  were  appointed.  At  the  request 
of  the  Civil  Service  Reform  Association,  the  state  civil  service  commis- 
sion in  May,  1901,  made  an  investigation  of  these  appointments.  After 
an  exhaustive  examination  the  commission  unanimously  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  result  of  the  action  of  the  police  board,  in  marking 
the  record  of  the  candidates,  was  to  set  aside  competition,  and  that  the 
police  board  "  arbitrarily,  and  at  least  substantially,  fixed  the  status  of 
"  candidates  upon  the  eligible  list."  They  further  found  that  the  promo- 
tions made  by  the  police  board  were  based  upon  political  considerations. 
It  was  common  talk  at  the  time  that  these  promotions  had  been  pur- 
chased.   One  of  the  appointees  made  payment  in  promissory  notes. 

Roundsmen  seeking  promotion  to  the  grade  of  captain  were  expected 
to  pay  $2,500;  and  patrolmen  seeking  promotion,  $1,000  to  $1,500. 
Applicants  for  the  position  of  patrolmen  had  to  pay  $300. 

It  was  notorious  that  civil  service  examination  papers  were  sold 
in  the  department. 

Everyone  who  knew  the  workings  of  the  police  department,  or  who 
investigated  police  matters,  agreed  that  much  of  the  crookedness  centred 
about  the  police  surgeons.  It  was  a  common  joke  about  police  head- 
quarters that  when  a  surgeon  examined  for  physical  fitness,  or  when 
he  gave  notice  that  he  would  testify  against,  a  member  of  the  force  he 
expected  to  be  "  seen."  The  power  of  the  surgeons  to  affect,  by  their 
reports  upon  the  physical  condition  of  the  men,  matters  of  promotion, 
appointment,  removal,  and  retirement  was  very  great.  The  result  of 
charges  of  intoxication  depended  commonly  upon  a  surgeon's  testimony, 
and  it  was  generally  recognized  that  these  cases  were  a  common  source 
of  "  rake-off "  for  the  surgeons. 

The  members  of  the  force,  from  patrolmen  up,  were  expected  to 
recoup  themselves  by  "  grafting  "  in  various  forms  for  the  sums  which 
they  had  to  pay  for  appointment  or  promotion.  Nearly  all  inspectors, 
captains,  and  sergeants  who  owned  their  promotions  to  Tammany  and 

[394] 


THE  FORCE  DEMORALIZED 


45 


as  to  whose  private  means  specific  information  has  been  made  public, 
have  proved  to  be  rich.  After  the  death  of  Captain  Donohue  in  October, 
1902,  a  tin  box  containing  $34,000  was  found  in  his  desk  at  the  station 
house.    One  of  his  wardmen  tried  to  get  possession  of  this  box. 

The  force  was  demoralized.  If  a  patrolman  who  had  influential 
friends  was  brought  up  on  charges,  he  escaped  easily.  The  following 
cases  illustrate  this :  — 

On  May  2d,  1901,  Deputy  Chief  of  Police  Devery,  sitting  to  hear 
charges  against  policemen,  dismissed  a  complaint  against  Patrolman 
McManus.  Upon  the  24th  of  January  McManus  had  pleaded  guilty  to 
a  charge  of  failure  to  support  his  children,  in  the  Court  of  Special  Ses- 
sions, and  had  been  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  three  months.  Be- 
fore Devery  testimony  was  given  to  the  effect  that  after  he  had  been 
sentenced  McManus  had  said  that  he  thought  that  he  had  not  pleaded 
guilty.  Devery  then  said  with  great  violence,  "  Why,  it's  an  outrage. 
"  Here's  a  man  sent  to  prison  without  trial,  and  recorded  as  pleading 
"  guilty  when  he  didn't.  That's  Jerome.  That  ain't  right.  I  dismiss 
"  the  complaint.  Jerome  can't  run  New  York.  There's  a  lot  of  tin 
"  soldiers  going  around  the  streets  of  New  York  with  guns  on  their 
"  shoulders,  breaking  into  people's  houses,  shooting  their  guns  off  in 
"  the  streets,  and  raising  riots  in  the  city,  disgracing  the  whole  com- 
"  munity." 

At  the  same  sitting  Devery  heard  testimony  upon  the  charges  of 
a  patrolman  that  a  roundsman  had  hounded  and  abused  him.  The  charge 
was  supported  by  the  testimony  of  three  witnesses.  The  roundsman  made 
a  charge  of  being  off  post  against  the  patrolman,  unsupported  by  wit- 
nesses. Devery  fined  the  patrolman  thirty  days'  pay,  saying,  "  You  ain't 
"  worth  thirty  cents.  You're  light  as  tissue  paper.  If  you're  the  kind 
"  of  man  we  get  from  the  civil  service,  we  don't  want  any  more  of  them. 
"  The  next  time  you  come  before  me  I'll  break  you." 

In  collection  with  another  case  at  the  same  sitting,  Devery  said 
to  the  reporters,  "  You  men  were  all  there  looking  for  a  sensation.  It's 
"  too  bad  you  didn't  have  a  brass  band  with  you  to  make  more  noise 
"  and  more  sensation  with,  and  to  cause  more  inconvenience  to  the 
"  public.  It's  too  bad  you  didn't  have  that  tin  soldier  with  a  gun  on  his 
"  shoulder  and  a  tin  can  tied  to  his  tail  that  I  spoke  about  a  while  ago. 
"  Then  you  would  had  plenty  of  excitement." 

[395] 


46 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


On  May  3d  Justice  Jerome  gave  out  a  statement  of  the  case  of 
Patrolman  McManus,  made  up  from  the  records  of  the  Society  for  the 
Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children  and  the  records  of  the  Court  of  Special 
Sessions.    The  statement  showed  the  following  facts :  — 

In  February,  1892,  McManus,  though  married,  was  found  to  be 
living  with  a  fifteen-year-old  girl.  The  girl  was  rescued  by  the  Society, 
and  McManus  was  tried  before  Police  Commissioner  Sheehan  for  con- 
duct unbecoming  an  officer.  Decision  reserved.  On  March  5th,  1892, 
McManus  was  held  for  trial  in  General  Sessions  on  a  charge  of  rape. 
After  a  number  of  adjournments  and  arraignments  in  the  Court  of 
General  Sessions,  Judge  Martine  dismissed  the  indictment  on  a  tech- 
nicality. 

Later,  the  matter  of  his  family  was  investigated,  and  it  was  found 
that  a  wife  and  four  children  were  destitute.  A  warrant  was  issued  for 
the  arrest  of  McManus,  but  he  disappeared.  It  was  stated  that  he  had 
been  dismissed  from  the  force  for  neglect  of  duty  and  intoxication. 
The  children  were  cared  for  by  semi-public  institutions. 

A  year  later,  in  1898,  McManus  was  charged  by  his  wife  with 
failing  to  support  her.  He  promised  to  pay  his  wife  $6  a  week,  and 
was  released,  but  did  not  do  so,  and  on  January  21st,  1901,  was  arraigned 
in  the  Fourth  District  City  Magistrate's  Court.  He  admitted  on  that 
occasion  that  he  was  living  with  a  Mrs.  Daly,  of  No.  267  Tenth  Avenue. 

On  January  24th,  before  Justices  Jerome,  Jacobs  and  McKean,  in 
the  Court  of  Special  Sessions,  McManus  was  sentenced  to  three  months 
in  the  penitentiary. 

In  reply  to  a  reporter's  question  whether  there  was  any  reason  for 
keeping  Patrolman  McManus  on  the  police  force,  notwithstanding  his 
record,  Deputy  Commissioner  Devery  said,  "  There  are  reasons  unknown 
"  to  you  and  to  me." 

On  August  15th  Deputy  Police  Commissioner  Devery  sat  to  try 
complaints  against  policemen.  Addressing  a  patrolman  who  had  been 
seen  by  the  roundsman  to  stand  talking  to  a  woman  for  fifteen  minutes, 
he  said :  — 

"  When  you're  caught  with  the  goods  on  you  and  you  can't  get  away 
"  with  it,  you  want  to  stand  up  with  nerve  and  take  your  medicine.  You 
"  don't  know  nothin'  then.   No  matter  under  what  circumstances,  a  man 

[396] 


PATROLMAN  O'NEIL'S  CASE 


47 


"  doesn't  want  to  know  nothin'  when  he's  caught  with  the  goods  on  him. 
"  You  tell  your  lady  to  tip  you  off  next  time.  Always  get  tipped  off. 
"  You  don't  want  to  go  blind  to  these  things  hereafter." 

Among  the  complaints  brought  before  Deputy  Police  Commissioner 
Devery  on  September  12th  was  that  of  Captain  Price  against  James 
O'Brien,  a  precinct  detective.  Captain  Price  testified  that  he  had  found 
O'Brien  drinking  in  a  saloon,  and  had  ordered  him  to  go  to  the  station 
house;  and  that  thereupon  O'Brien  had  refused  to  obey,  swearing  at 
Price.    O'Brien  did  not  present  any  witnesses.    Devery  said:  — 

"  Everybody  seems  to  want  to  smash  this  man  O'Brien.  The  only 
"  trouble  with  him  is  that  he  is  too  good.  There  ain't  a  crook  or  a  burglar 
"  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  that  he  don't  get.  He's  made  a  suc- 
"  cess  of  every  captain  that's  been  sent  there.  Of  course,  I  don't  mean 
"  you,  Capt.  Price,  you've  made  your  own  success.  But  don't  think  it's 
"  because  Devery  put  O'Brien  where  he  is  that  I  say  this  about  him. 
"  He's  a  good  man,  and  he's  making  records  for  a  lot  of  people  that  want 
"  to  smash  him.  I'll  put  him  up  against  your  two  wardmen,  Price,  for 
"  skill  as  an  officer.  Everybody  wants  to  get  at  him  because  he  knows 
"  Devery.    This  case  is  dismissed." 

It  was  generally  understood  that  transfers  could  be  secured  for  pay- 
ment, and  that  complaints  by  sergeants  and  roundsmen  were  against 
men  who  had  no  influential  friends.  It  was  also  understood  that  upon 
"  seeing  "  a  certain  go-between  a  remittance  of  fines  imposed  could  be 
secured. 

Among  the  complaints  heard  by  Deputy  Police  Commissioner  Dev- 
ery on  August  29th  was  that  of  Elias  Hollender,  a  dealer  in  hardware 
and  crockery,  3086  Third  Avenue,  against  Patrolman  Edward  O'Neil. 
Hollender  complained  that  the  officer  was  rough  and  violent  in  arresting 
Hollender  for  selling  goods  on  Sunday,  contrary  to  law.  Devery's  exami- 
nation of  O'Xeil  proceeded  as  follows :  — 

Devery  —  They  ought  to  have  taken  you  and  thrown  you  out  of 
the  window.  What  right  have  you  to  go  in  there  and  interfere  with 
this  man  trying  to  make  his  living? 

O'Neil  —  Why,  I  arrested  him  because  he  was  guilty  of  a  violation 
of  law  in  my  presence. 

Devery  —  Yv'hat  ?  I  think  he  has  as  good  a  right  to  sell  as  any  of 
them  grocers  up  there.    He  was  selling  dishes  so  that  this  lady  could 

[397] 


4* 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


eat  or  make  her  little  cup  of  tea.  You  went  in  there  and  interfered  and 
pulled  those  people  out,  using  a  revolver. 

O'Neil  —  I  was  obeying  orders  from  the  station  house. 

Devery  —  We're  having  enough  of  that  kind  of  thing  already  — 
people  going  in  and  interfering  with  other  people  in  making  a  little 
living  in  their  own  way.  Perhaps  in  a  day  or  two  we  will  have  Mrs. 
Nation  and  a  lot  of  other  tin  soldiers  traveling  around  here.  She  and 
those  other  tin  soldiers  will  be  coming  down  on  us  to  enforce  these  blue 
laws,  and  making  it  so  that  a  man  can't  make  a  living.  You  ought  to  be  in 
the  fifth  or  sixth  ring  of  that  party.  You  ought  to  have  a  little  hatchet, 
too.  It's  the  rottenest  kind  of  thing,  this  having  a  lot  of  tin  soldiers 
going  around  and  interfering  with  business.    It's  a  bloody  outrage. 

O'Neil  —  I  suppose  if  I'd  stand  for  a  shakedown  you'd  stand  for  it. 

"Devery  —  I'll  fine  you  thirty  days. 

O'Neil  —  I  won't  stand  for  it.  I'll  take  it  up  higher.  You  won't 
do  anything  of  the  sort  —  fine  me  thirty  days.  I've  been  transferred 
six  times  in  four  months  because  I  won't  stand  for  shaking  down.  I've 
paid  $45  

Devery  —  Come  back  here.    What's  that  you  say  ? 

O'Neil  —  I  said  that  I  had  been  transferred  six  times  in  the  last 
four  months  and  I  wouldn't  stand  for  a  shakedown. 

Devery  —  I'll  make  a  complaint  of  insubordination  against  you. 

On  September  4th,  Patrolman  O'Neil  said  to  the  newspaper  re- 
porters :  — 

"  I  have  given  Mr.  Garvan  [an  assistant  district  attorney]  the  name 
"  of  the  man  who  tried  to  shake  me  down.  This  transfer  business  has 
"  been  going  on  in  the  department  ever  since  Conlin's  time  to  my  own 
"  knowledge.  It  dwindled  down  some  under  McCullagh,  and  then,  when 
"  Devery  came  in,  it  became  worse  than  it  ever  was.  I  know  many  police- 
"  men  who  have  paid  $25  rather  than  leave  precincts  near  their  homes. 
"  In  many  cases  it  was  cheaper  than  moving.  I  told  the  Justice  of  many 
"  cases  I  know  of." 

On  September  6th,  Patrolman  O'Neil  was  placed  on  trial  before 
Deputy  Police  Commissioner  York,  on  charges  of  conduct  unbecoming 
an  officer.  The  charges  were  based  upon  the  controversy  between  O'Neil 
and  Devery  on  August  29th.  O'Neil  testified  that  it  was  "a  common 
station-house  rumor  that  if  you  pay  twenty-five  dollars  you  will  be 

[398] 


DEVERY  AS  TRIAL  JUDGE 


49 


"  taken  care  of  for  a  year  " ;  that  after  he  had  been  transferred  a  num- 
ber of  times  he  had  been  approached  by  a  patrolman  who  professed  to 
have  a  pull,  and  who  said  that  for  twenty-five  dollars  he  would  have 
O'Xeil  transferred  to  a  precinct  nearer  his  home,  "'  with  guarantee." 
John  Marrinan,  a  patrolman,  testified  that  after  he  had  been  fined  twenty 
days'  pay  he  had  been  directed  by  another  policeman  to  Barney  Hirsch, 
a  saloon-keeper,  at  Grand  and  Allen  Streets.  Hirsch  had  said  that  he 
did  business  with  Glennon,  that  he  M  represented  the  lower  part  of  the 
city,"  and  that  for  fifty  dollars  he  would  have  Marrinan's  fine  remitted. 
Replying  to  a  question  of  Deputy  Commissioner  York,  Marrinan  said : 
—  I  mean  simply  that  when  a  man  does  something  straight  he  is 
hounded."    Patrolman  Ryan  testified  as  follows:  — 

Question  —  Were  you  transferred  to  Kinrrsbridge  ? 

Answer  —  Yes,  on  my  own  request. 

O.  —  When  were  you  transferred  again? 

A.  —  Four  weeks  later  I  was  transferred  to  Delancey  Street,  and 
a  week  later  to  High  Bridge,  and  three  months  later  to  East  One  Hun- 
dred and  Fourth  Street,  and  four  days  later  to  King's  Bridge. 

Q.  —  Were  you  ever  approached  by  any  one  ? 

A.  —  T  was  told  by  a  man  if  I  paid  $25  I  would  be  sent  uptown 
again.  That  was  the  second  day  T  was  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fourth 
Street  station.  I  promised  to  pay.  and  was  sent  uptown  and  have  not 
seen  the  man  since. 

O. —  When  were  you  to  pay? 

A.  —  After  the  1st  of  September;  that  is,  after  pay  day. 

On  September  i2tli.  Patrolman  John  Marrinan  was  brought  before 
Deputy  Police  Commissioner  Devery  upon  a  charge  of  having  a  soiled 
uniform.    The  examination  by  Devery  was  in  part  as  follows:  — 

Devery  — Well,  what  yer  got  to  say  to  that? 

Marrinan  —  I  had  a  woman  prisoner  the  night  before  who  was  very 
dirty  and  she  soiled  my  clothing. 

Devery  —  Did  she  dress  you  in  the  mornin' ? 

Marrinan  —  No,  but  she  was  a  very  unclean  woman  and  

Devery  —  Unclean,  you  call  her  unclean!  No  matter  how  dirty 
she  was  she  was  cleaner  than  you  —  you  —  you  

.Marrinan  —  I  don't  think  so,  sir. 

*  *  *,  *  *  * 


[ml 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


Marrinan  —  Now,  now  

Devery  —  Now  !  now  !  Just  spit  it  out.  You're  a  bum.  Clear  out 
of  here,  and  keep  away  from  me.  I'll  fine  you  fifteen  days'  pay.  Now 
go,  you,  you  dirty  bum  you,  and  see  if  you  can  get  that  fine  remitted. 
Go  on,  you  bum,  you  loafer,  you  

The  rest  of  what  Devery  said  here  was  so  foul  that  none  of  the  news- 
papers would  print  it.  Marrinan  swore  that  he  had  been  told  that 
"  Wardman  "  Glennon  could  get  his  fine  remitted  for  $50. 

On  September  23d,  Police  Commissioner  Murphy  announced  that, 
upon  the  findings  of  Deputy  Commissioner  York,  he  had  dismissed 
Patrolman  Edward  O'Neil  from  the  police  force  because  no  other  course 
was  open  to  him  under  the  findings  of  Deputy  Commissioner  York.  The 
findings  were  in  part  as  follows :  — 

*  "  It  is  conceded  in  this  case  that  O'Neil  made  a  statement;  he  does 
"not  deny  it  upon  his  trial;  on  the  contrary,  sought  to  prove  it;  he  has 
t.  failed  to  do  so  —  the  only  excuse  offered  being  that  the  words  were 
"  uttered  while  he  was  laboring  under  great  excitement,  and,  therefore, 
"  he  should  be  absolved  from  any  serious  punishment  by  reason  of 
"  their  use. 

"  There  is  no  question  as  to  his  guilt  of  the  charge  as  stated  — 
"conduct  unbecoming  an  officer  —  but,  as  the  case  is  one  that  has  at- 
Y  tracted  a  very  large  degree  of  attention,  it  is  proper,  therefore,  so 
"  far  as  the  imposing  of  a  sentence  is  concerned,  that  it  should  be 
"  left  to  the  head  of  the  department,  and  to  that  end,  therefore,  the 
"  case  is  respectfully  referred  to  the  Commissioner  for  the  imposi- 
tion of  such  penalty  as' in  his  judgment  the  character  of  the  offense 
"  calls  for." 

THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  COMMISSIONER  PARTRIDGE 

On  January  1st,  1902,  Mayor  Low  appointed  Colonel  John  N.  Part- 
ridge as  commissioner  of  police.  Colonel  Partridge  had  been  commis- 
sioner of  the  Brooklyn  police  during  Mr.  Low's  term  as  mayor  of  Brook- 
lyn in  1881-83.  His  administration  of  the  Brooklyn  police  was  so  satis- 
factory to  Mr.  Low  that,  upon  assuming  office  as  mayor  of  New  York 
City,  nineteen  years  later,  Mayor  Low  selected  him  as  head  of  the  great 
department  of  police  of  the  greater  city. 

[400! 


COMMISSIONER  PARTRIDGE 


SI 


But  there  was  a  radical  difference  between  the  Brooklyn  police  force 
in  1881-83  and  the  police  force  of  New  York  City  in  1902.  The  Brooklyn 
force  in  those  years  was  comparatively  small,  and  presented  no  such 
problems  as  confronted  the  head  of  the  New  Vork  City  force  in  1902. 
As  head  of  the  Brooklyn  police,  Colonel  Partridge  did  not  have  to  deal 
with  a  thoroughly  demoralized  and  corruptly  officered  force.  It  was 
a  force  in  which  political  favoritism  had  been  notoriously  exploited,  and 
doubtless  individual  instances  of  police  corruption  had  occurred.  But 
as  a  whole  the  Brooklyn  force  had  not  been  made  the  instrument  of  a 
rooted  system  of  blackmail.  That  system,  long  since  in  operation  in 
what  was  then  New  York  City,  had  not  been  transplanted  to  Brooklyn. 
The  management  of  the  Brooklyn  force  required  no  great  administrative 
qualities;  and  it  was  not  difficult  for  a  comnr'ssioner  of  moderate  abil- 
ities to  conduct  the  department  well. 

With  the  New  York  City  force  in  1902  the  situation  was  difficult 
and  complicated.  The  force  of  nearly  eight  thousand  men  was  distrib- 
uted in  eighty  precincts  of  the  most  varied  character.  The  administration 
of  so  large  a  body  called  for  a  far  higher  degree  of  executive  ability 
than  the  management  of  a  force  of  fifteen  hundred  men.  It  was,  how- 
ever, not  the  magnitude  of  the  police  force  or  the  extent  of  territory 
which  demanded  a  vigorous,  intelligent,  honest  commissioner,  but  the 
state  of  the  force.  The  comprehensive  system  of  blackmail  which  had 
prevailed  under  former  Tammany  administrations  had  been  both  en- 
larged in  scope  and  made  more  cohesive  under  Mayor  Van  Wyck's  ad- 
ministration. When  Col.  Partridge  assumed  the  office  of  commissioner 
on  January  1st,  1902,  the  force  was  demoralized.  For  four  years  there 
had  been  a  direct,  and  almost  open,  alliance  between  the  police  and  the 
criminal  classes.  The  force  was  officered  largely  by  men  who  had 
benefited  by  this  alliance,  and  who  were  prepared  to  continue  it.  The 
honest  men  on  the  force  had  been  overawed  into  indirect  participation 
in  "  the  system,"  or  at  least  into  submission.  To  do  so  would  have  in- 
vited quick  reprisals.  The  most  corrupt  men  in  the  force  were  its  of- 
ficers; the  honest  men  were  subordinates.  The  force,  which  cost  the  tax- 
payers nearly  twelve  million  dollars  a  year,  and  whose  business  was  to 
suppress  crime,  was  paid  yearly  an  amount,  perhaps  equally  large,  every 
year  by  the  criminal  classes  to  license  crime.  The  greater  part  of  this 
sum  went  to  the  higher  officers  and  Tammany  politicians,  but  "  the 

[401] 


5-7 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


system  "  of  organized  blackmail  was  so  perfected  in  detail,  and  in  execu- 
tion so  relentless,  that  every  member  of  the  force  was  dragged  into 
active  or  passive  connivance  and  the  morale  of  the  entire  force  destroyed. 
When  appointments  were  sold  at  a  specified  rate,  when  promotions  were 
auctioned  off  to  the  highest  bidder,  when  both  patrolmen  and  superior 
officers  were  expected  to  recoup  themselves  by  blackmail,  where  the 
police  force  was  a  virtual  protector  of  vice  and  crime,  obviously  there 
could  be  neither  real  discipline  nor  efficiency.  When  Colonel  Partridge 
took  office  it  was  evident  to  every  observer  that  the  corrupt  powers  in 
the  police  department  would  exert  all  their  ingenuity  to  accomplish 
two  things;  —  first,  to  keep  up  the  system  of  blackmail  by  which  they 
profited  so  largely;  and,  second,  to  prevent  detection  and  consequent 
punishment. 

To  cope  effectively  with  such  a  force  required  an  energetic,  fearless 
commissioner,  with  a  knowledge  of  the  men  with  whom  he  had  to  deal 
and  the  will  to  execute  his  purposes.  Commissioner  Partridge  soon 
proved  his  inadequacy.  He  could  have  availed  himself  of  trustworthy 
sources  of  information  both  within  and  without  the  department  in  find- 
ing out  the  reputation  and  character  of  the  officers,  .and  in  ascertaining 
the  conditions  prevailing  in  the  department. 

But  Commissioner  Partridge  took  no  adequate  measures  either  to 
break  up  the  alliance  between  the  police  and  crime  or  to  get  a  proper 
understanding  of  the  underlying  conditions  in  the  department.  On  the 
contrary,  he  showed  his  continued  ignorance  of  the  problem  with  which 
he  had  to  deal,  by  making  his  principal  uniformed  adviser  Inspector 
Cross,  who  has  since  been  dismissed  from  the  force,  and  whose  reputa- 
tion among  policemen  and  others  familiar  with  the  affairs  of  the  force 
was  of  the  worst.  The  presence  of  notoriously  corrupt  officers  at 
headquarters  and  the  evident  influence  which  they  exerted  over  Com- 
missioner Partridge  discouraged  the  honest  men  on  the  force.  Black- 
mail and  bribery  went  oh  as  before,  except  that  as  the  risk  was  greater 
under  an  unfriendly  administration,  the  "  protection  "  rates  were  higher. 
Between  Twenty-Third  and  Forty-Fifth  Streets,  in  the  central  part  of 
the  city,  a  number  of  large  gambling  houses  continued  in  full  opera- 
tion. Tt  was  common  talk  among  those  who  knew  that  one  of  these 
houses  in  West  Fortieth  Street  was  under  the  direct  protection  of  one 
of  the  high  uniformed  officers  at  headquarters.    When  this  officer  wns 

1 402] 


BLACKMAIL  STILL  PAID 


53 


asked  by  Commissioner  Partridge  to  make  out  a  list  of  gambling  houses 
he  did  not  inelude  this  well-known  house.  It  was  notorious  that  in 
three-quarters  of  the  precincts  where  policy  was  sold,  money  was  paid 
over  every  month  to  the  police  captains  for  protection.  The  "  China- 
town "  gambling  syndicate,  controlled  by  rich  Chinese  merchants,  still 
operated  under  police  protection  at  number  16  PeU  Street.  "  China- 
town "  had  long  since  become  known  in  the  force  as  one  of  the  "  rich- 
est "  parts  of  the  city;  and  it  was  authoritatively  estimated  that  not  less 
than  $40,000  was  collected  annually  by  the  police  for  protection."  Un- 
der Commissioner  Partridge  disorderly  women  in  "  Chinatown "  were 
assessed  twenty-five  cents  a  week  in  addition  to  the  amount  that  they 
had  been  paying  before  for  police  "  protection,"  because,  in  the  phrase 
of  the  police,  "  the  chances  we  take  are  bigger."  Saloons  and  illegal 
resorts  of  various  kinds  still  paid  blackmail.  Some  of  these  dives,  where 
unnatural  and  revolting  crimes  were  practised,  ran  openly  in  Third 
Avenue  between  Fourteenth  and  Twenty-Third  Streets  and  in  other 
parts  of  the  city,  yet  Commissioner  Partridge  knew  nothing  of  their 
existence.  At  no  time  did  he  take  steps  to  acquaint  himself  with  the 
conditions.  He  allowed  himself  to  be  easily  imposed  upon.  Frequently, 
for  spectacular  purposes,  inspectors  and  captains  made  raids;  but  Com- 
missioner Partridge  did  not  seem  to  be  aware  of  the  fact  that  it  was  a 
common  practice  of  inspectors  and  captains  to  notify  the  newspaper 
reporters  of  intended  raids  the  success  of  which  depended  upon  absolute 
secrecy.  The  court  records  showed  that  these  raids  seldom  resulted  in 
conviction.  Commissioner  Partridge's  weakness  and  inefficiency  satis- 
fied the  leaders  of  "  the  system."  One  of  the  most  notorious  officers 
in  the  department  was  heard  by  two  credible  witnesses  to  say,  "What? 
Partridge?    He's  all  right.    Only  leave  him  alone." 

'The  men  in  the  force  regulated  their  conduct  witii  the  conviction 
that,  if  they  did  anything-  hostile  to  the  criminal  element  which  they  be- 
lieved to  be  still  in  control  of  the  force,  they,  would  be  made  to  suffer. 
They  believed  that  this  criminal  element  would  go  to  any  lengths  to 
"  get  square  "  with  any  patrolman  who  "  did  not  mind  his  own  business." 
1  )eceut  men  in  the  force  asserted  that  it  was  no  exaggeration  to  say 
that  a  policeman  who  defied  this  element  in  such  a  way  as  to  become 
dangerous  to  it  would  place  his  life  in  danger. 

Commissioner  Partridge  did  not  seem  to  know,  what  every  observer 

[403] 


54 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


knew,  that  a  great  proportion  of  the  inspectors  and  captains  bore  the 
worst  reputations.  Many  of  them  were  friends  of  Devery,  and  had  be- 
come rich.  At  such  times  as  he  sought  evidence  of  the  existence  of 
illegal  resorts  Commissioner  Partridge  turned  the  investigation  over  to 
the  very  police  officials  who  were  conniving  at  the  existence  of  these 
places.  The  only  remedy  that  occurred  to  Commissioner  Partridge  was 
the  occasional  transfers  of  inspectors  and  captains.  Of  this  old,  futile 
practise  District  Attorney  Jerome  said :  — 

"  I  can't  possibly  see  any  good  in  shifting  one  grafter  into  the  place 
"  of  another.  Nothing  is  gained  by  it.  I  have  asked  from  the  beginning 
"of  the  present  administration  that  the  captains  be  kept  in  their  places. 
"  If  the  captain  is  a  good,  honest  man  there  is  no  use  in  sending  him 
"into  a  neighborhood  where  he  is  not  acquainted  with  the  people;  and 
"  if  he  is  a  grafter,  he  will  graft  in  one  place,  just  as  he  did  in  the  other. 
"  The  old  administration  used  a  shake-up  '  for  the  benefit  of  the  service.' 
"  Everybody  knows  what  that  meant.  Tf  a  captain  is  a  crook,  it  is  much 
'*  easier  to  get  him  if  you  leave  him  in  his  old  haunts." 

Among  the  captains  transferred  by  Commissioner  Partridge  was 
Daniel  C.  Moynahan.  The  evidence  upon  which  he  was  indicted  for 
extortion  and  convicted,  showed  that  upon  the  very  day  of  his  transfer, 
he  began  to  make  arrangements  with  the  keepers  of  disorderly  houses 
in  his  new  precinct  for  the  payment  of  tribute. 

Such  charges  as  were  preferred  against  police  officers  under  Com- 
missioner Partridge  were  made,  not  by  the  commissioner,  but  by  Dis- 
trict Attorney  Jerome  and  other  outside  agencies.  Commissioner  Part- 
ridge had  the  power  to  suspend  men  under  charges,  but  with  two  ex- 
ceptions he  allowed  them  to  retain  their  positions  with  full  pay. 

Of  the  ninety  members  of  the  force  dismissed  from  the  force  in 
1902  all,  with  a  few  exceptions,  were  patrolmen.  The  full  list  of  the 
dismissals  made  by  Commissioner  Partridge  with  the  reasons  for  the  dis- 
missals are  given  in  Appendix  L,  page  79.  No  inspectors  were  dis- 
missed by  Commissioner  Partridge.  Those  of  higher  officers  who 
were  dismissed  and  who  bore  bad  reputations,  were  Captains  Daniel 
C.  Moynihan  and  John  Reanlon  and  Acting  Captain  James  Churchill. 

Of  the  basis  of  "the  system"  Commissioner  Partridge  proved  him- 
self entirely  ignorant.  Even  the  most  superficial  observer  of  police  af- 
fairs knew  that  the  K  wardmen  "  were  the  backbone  of  "  the  system." 

[404 1 


"GRAFTERS"  IN  CHARGE  OF  THE  FORCE  55 


Commissioner  Partridge  reduced  the  excessive  number  of  men  assigned 
to  duty  in  plain  clothes.  But  he  made  no  apparent  change  in  the  matter 
of  precinct  detectives,  commonly  called  "  wardmen,"  two  of  whom  were 
designated  by  each  captain  for  service  in  his  precinct.  These  "  ward- 
men  "  were  the  agents  of  the  captains  in  blackmailing  and  collecting 
tribute,  and  were  taken  from  precinct  to  precinct  by  captains  who  were 
transferred,  as  regularly  as  they  had  been  under  Tammany. 

While  "  grafters  "  were  allowed  virtually  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the 
department,  the  severest  penalties  were  inflicted  upon  patrolmen  who 
violated  the  rules  of  the  department. 

This  policy  of  "  pounding  "  the  patrolmen  for  trivial  offenses,  while 
nothing  was  done  to  rid  the  department  of  the  big  offenders  who  were 
responsible  for  the  system  of  blackmail,  spread  demoralization  through- 
out the  force.    Other  factors  contributed  to  this  result. 

Every  honest  man  in  the  force  saw  that  Commissioner  Partridge 
knew  nothing  of  the  real  composition  of  the  force  and  the  character  of 
the  superior  officers.  Commissioner  Partridge  and  his  deputies  adopted 
the  idea  of  ruling  the  police  force  according  to  military  ideas.  The  word 
of  the  superior  officer  was  accepted  absolutely  as  against  the  subordinate. 
In  a  force  where  the  superior  officers  had,  for  the  most  part,  secured 
their  promotions  by  bribery;  where  the  superior  officers  were  the  bene- 
ficiaries of  blackmailing:  and  where  the  honest  men,  as  a  rule,  remained 
subordinates  —  the  attempt  to  instil  a  spirit  of  respect  among  the  men 
for  their  superiors  excited  only  ridicule,  and  added  to  the  prevalent 
demoralization. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  men  were  often  forced  to  report  crimes 
and  other  events  in  a  way  indicated  by  their  superior  officers.  It  was 
also  a  common  experience  for  sergeants  and  roundsmen  to  make  com- 
plaints against  men  who  had  either  no  influential  friends  or  who  "  made 
trouble.''  This  "  trouble  "  consisted  in  arresting  for  violations  of  the 
law  men  and  women  who  were  paying  for  fJ  protection."  The  men  were 
expected  not  to  run  counter  to  jj  the  system " ;  if  they  did  they  were 
cither  transferred  far  from  their  homes,  or  dismissed  or  disciplined  on 
trumped-up  charges.  A  special  point  was  also  made  against  patrolmen 
who  would  not  pay  assessments  or  make  presents  to  their  superior  of- 
ficers. 

The  transferring  of  men  from  precinct  to  precinct  was  an  old  abuse 

[405] 


5^ 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


which  Commissioner  Partridge  did  little  to  remedy.  It  was  made  to 
serve  a  two-fold  purpose  by  "  the  system."  Patrolmen  who  were  not 
pliable  were  transferred  to  precincts  where  they  "  could  do  no  harm," 
and  for  $25  or  $50  a  patrolman  could  secure  transfer  to  a  precinct  near 
his  home.  Commissioner  Partridge  promised  to  transfer  the  members 
of  the  force  in  such  a  way  that  each  should  live  as  near  as  possible  to 
his  station  house.  Many  of  the  men  lived  miles  from  their  precincts,  and 
the  uncertainty  as  to  transfers  discouraged  the  members  of  the  force 
from  moving  their  homes  so  that  they  should  be  near  their  work.  With 
few  exceptions  every  transfer  of  a  patrolman  was  made  on  the  request 
of  his  captain,  or  upon  the  man's  request,  approved  by  the  captain.  A 
corrupt  captain  could  easily  abuse  this  power. 

•  Commissioner  Partridge  made  no  effort  to  apply  to  police  methods 
a  general  telephone  and  signal  system.  Other  cities  had  complete  and 
effective  systems  of  police  telephones,  and  in  the  Bronx  and  Brooklyn 
systems  of  police  signal  boxes  were  installed,  but  in  Manhattan  there 
was  no  police  signal  service.  A  citizen  in  Manhattan  borough  who 
needed  instant  police  aid  or  a  patrolman  on  duty  had  to  call  up  head- 
quarters through  the  public  central,  and  get  into  communication  with 
the  proper  station  through  headquarters.    This  meant  considerable  delay. 

In  reviewing  his  work  Commissioner  Partridge,  in  an  authoritative 
statement  published  in  the  iVczv  York  World,  November  30th,  1902.  said 
in  substance :  — 

That  at  the  close  of  1903  conditions  in  the  police  department  would 
be  much  more  satisfactory  than  at  the  time  when  the  statement  was  made. 

That  he  had  been  working  quietly  to  learn  the  men,  with  a  view  to 
placing  those  upon  whom  he  could  absolutely  rely  where  they  could  be 
of  greatest  service  in  reforming  the  department. 

That  he  had  retired  T13  men,  and  had  dismissed  74,  —  a  much  greater 
number  111  proportion  to  the  time  covered  than  had  been  retired  and  dis- 
missed by  either  the  Strong  or  the  Van  Wyek  administration. 

That  the  net  result  of  retirements,  abolition  of  sinecures,  and  re- 
duction of  the  number  of  men  at  headquarters,  in  the  detective  bureau 
and  in  the  bicycle  squad,  had  been  to  increase  by  300  the  number  of  able- 
bodied  men  available  for  active  patrol  service. 

That  "  Deveryism  "  was  on  the  decrease  in  the  department  all  the 
time. 

I400J 


CITY  CLUB'S  INVESTIGATION 


57 


That  he  was  confident  that  there  was  no  such  systematic  collection 
of  blackmail  as  formerly. 

That  gambling  had  decreased,  and  had  been  greatly  restricted. 

That  he  had  proved  that  officers  proved  guilty  of  serious  charges 
could  expect  no  leniency. 

That  it  had  been  demonstrated  that  appointments,  promotions,  and 
transfers  could  not  be  obtained  for  a  consideration. 

That  discipline  had  been  greatly  improved. 

Some  weeks  before  Commissioner  Partridge's  statement  was  pub- 
lished The  City  Club  had  begun  an  elaborate  investigation,  extending 
over  six  weeks,  of  the  police  department.  The  report  of  the  committee 
which  conducted  the  investigation  said  with  reference  to  Commissioner 
I  'artridge's  statement :  — 

"  These  conclusions  deserve  the  consideration  due  to  the  statements 
"  of  an  officer  whose  sincerity  and  honesty  are  unquestioned.  It  is  fair, 
"  however,  to  ask  by  what  process  and  from  what  sources  the  commis- 
"  sioncr  obtained  the  information  upon  which  his  conclusions  rest. 

"  We  desire  to  make  it  clear  that  the  purpose  of  this  statement  is 
"  neither  to  controvert  nor  to  sustain  the  views  of  Commissioner  Part- 
"  ridge.  Our  investigation  of  the  police  department  was  begun  long 
"  before  his  statement  was  published,  and  has,  we  believe,  been  conducted 
"  without  passion  or  prejudice.  Indeed,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
"  say  that  The  City  Club,  having  co-operated  in  the  election  of 
"  Mayor  Low,  would  prefer  to  find  that  the  facts  were  entirely  favor- 
"  able  to  the  administration,  and  that  the  evil  condition  which  had 
"  developed  under  Tammany  had  been  cured  during  the  present  year. 
"  Tammany  was  voted  out  of  power  chiefly  because  of  its  administra- 
"  tion  of  the  police  department.  Whether  justifiably  or  not,  public  at- 
"  tention  is  now  concentrated  upon  what  is  generally  believed  to  be  the 
"  failure  to  reform  that  department,  rather  than  upon  the  great  improve- 
"  merit  which  has  been  wrought  in  other  branches  of  the  city  govern- 
"  ment." 

"  The  committee  does  not  attempt,  however,  to  present  legal  proof 
"  of  all  the  facts  stated.  The  committee's  purpose  has  been  to  procure, 
"  through  the  best  sources  available,  information  as  to  specific  facts,  and 
"  further  information  showing  what  may  be  called  the  popular  opinion 

[407] 


58 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  in  the  force  and  among  those  best  informed  about  the  department.  The 
"  committee  does  not  believe  that  its  function  is  to  make  a  series  of 
"  legal  cases.  It  believes,  ns  a  body  of  citizens  interested  in  the  govern- 
"  ment  of  the  city,  and  alive  to  the  vital  importance  to  the  cause  of 
"  decent  government  of  an  intelligent  and  determined  effort  to  improve 
"  the  efficiency  and  the  morale  of  the  police  force,  that  The  City  Club  has 
"  discharged  its  duty  when  it  has  given  a  picture,  as  accurate  as  cir- 
"  cumstances  will  permit,  of  the  conditions  constituting  •  the  police  prob- 
"  lem.'  Nothing  is  stated  that  has  not  been  so  presented  to  the  committee 
"  as  to  appear  to  be  at  least  a  moral  certainty.  The  statement  of  the 
"  beliefs  which  we  have  found  to  prevail  among  the  men  in  the  police 
"force  and  observers  not  in  the  force,  must  not  be  understood  to  imply 
"  that  the  committee  entertains  these  beliefs ;  but  the  fact  that  such  be- 
"  liefs  exist  generally  among  those  most  familiar  with  the  department 
1  has  been  fully  proved  to  us,  and  is  an  important  and  significant  fact. 
"  Their  very  existence  is  in  itself  a  part  of  the  existing  conditions  which 
"  must  be  recognized  in  any  intelligent  effort  to  correct  abuses.  The 
"  City  Club  neither  attacks  nor  defends  the  police  force  or  the  police  ad- 
"  ministration.    It  makes  no  argument.    It  finds  the  following  facts:  — 

"  That  among  intelligent  observers,  whether  police  officers  or  others, 
"  the  following  beliefs  are  held  with  practical  unanimity:  — 

"'  a.  That  Commissioner  Partridge's  administration  is  a  failure, 
"  and  the  commissioner  weak  and  gullible. 

"  b.  That  the  '  grafters '  and  criminals  in  the  department  say,  that 
"  Commissioner  Partridge  is  1  all  right.'    '  Only  leave  him  alone.' 

"  c.  That  nobody  fears  him;  but  that  wrongdoers  in  the  force  fear 
"  District  Attorney  Jerome. 

"  d.  That  blackmail  and  extortions  by  the  police  continue,  with  higher 
"  prices. 

"  c.  That  the  affairs  of  the  force  are  somehow  controlled  in  large 
"  measure  by  a  corrupt  and  criminal  element  in  the  force  itself. 

"  f.  That  promotions  and  appointments  are  paid  for.  but  that  suspi 
"  cion  does  not  attach  to  the  commissioner. 

.  f  g.  That  75  per  cent,  or  8o  per  cent,  of  the  force  voted  for  Low  in 
"  k;oi,  and  that  90  per  cent,  voted  for  Coler  in  1902. 

''h.  That  Captain  Piper's  'pounding'  makes  the  patrolmen  'sore,' 
H  because  bigger  offenders  escape  punishment. 

1 408 1 


STATE  OF  THE  FORCE 


'•  i.  That  the  application  of  strict  military  methods  is  unfair  to  the 
"  rank  and  file  in  a  force  in  which,  as  in  the  police  force,  the  superior 
"  officers  as  a  body  are  under  serious  suspicion. 

"  j.  That  the  criminals  in  the  force  say  that  Captain  Piper's  course 
"  in  emphasizing  formal  infractions  of  discipline  shows  that  he  is  not  '  on 
"  to  them.' 

'*  k.  That  the  men  must  report  as  indicated  by  their  superior  officers. 
"  or  suffer  the  consequences. 

"  1.  That  the  criminals  in  the  department  will  go  to  any  lengths  to 
"  protect  themselves  in  case  of  necessity. 

"  m.  That  no  man  in  the  force  who  values  his  job  will  go  against 
"  these  criminals. 

*  n.  That  the  men  expect  Tammany  to  come  back. 

*'  <>.  That  the  retention  of  men  like  Cross  and  Titus  in  important 
"  places  has  discouraged  the  decent  mtn. 

"  p.  That  Devery  has  influence  in  the  force. 

*  q.  That  many  of  the  complaints  by  roundsmen  and  other  officers 
u  against  patrolmen  are  against  men  without  influential  friends. 

"  r.  That  '  fake '  rescues  and  other  bogus  heroic  actions  appear  in 
"the  records  to  the  credit  of  favored  men;  and  that  the  records  of  the 
"  men  at  headquarters  are  of  little  value. 

'  s.  That  the  common  belief,  freely  expressed  among  the  men,  is 
"  that  the  inspectors  and  captains,  with  few  exceptions,  are  corrupt  and 
"  therefore  rich. 

"  t.  That  civil  service  examnation  papers  are  sold  in  the  depart- 
"  ment.  and  that  there  is  probably  some  crookedness  in  the  office  of  the 
{t  Civil  Service  Commissioner. 

"  u.  That  raids  made  by  captains  are  not  usually  made  in  good  faith, 
"  but  are  made  for  the  purpose  of  s  u  ing  the  captains  or  of  putting  the 
"  screws  on  law-breakers  for  financial  ends. 

"  v.  That  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  enforcement  of  the  excise  law  has 
"  worried  and  demoralized  the  force. 

"  w.  That  the  retirement  with  pensions  of  officers  whom  the  men 
"  commonly  call  '  notorious  grafters.'  and  the  failure  to  suspend  others  of 
"  the  same  class  under  charges,  have  created  dissatisfaction  among 
"  the  men. 

"  Section  292  of  the  charter  gives  the  commissioner  power  to  sus- 

[409] 


6o 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  pend  men  under  charges,  without  pay;  but  it  seems  probable  that  the 
"  dissatisfaction  said  to  prevail  as  to  retirements  rests  upon  a  misap- 
"  prehension  of  the  law  requiring  the  commissioner  to  make  retirements. 

"  x.  That  the  force  is  demoralized,  —  many  say  more  demoralized 
"  than  under  Devery." 

The  report  showed  further  that  Commissioner  Partridge  had  not 
taken  steps  to  correct  the  abuses  in  which  the  ".  wardmen "  were  the 
chief  instruments,  that  he  had  permitted  loose  and  corrupt  methods  to 
continue  in  the  detective  bureau,  the  complaint  bureau,  the  bureau  of 
repairs,  and  the  board  of  police  surgeons,  that  the  decent  men  in  the 
force  did  not  feel  that  the  commissioner  would  protect  them  if  in  the 
discharge  of  their  duty  they  incurred  the  displeasure  of  rascally  su- 
periors, and  that  the  commissioner  had  not  taken  steps  to  supply  the 
department  with  a  much  needed  signal  system. 

Upon  this  report,  the  board  of  trustees  of  The  City  Club  determined 
to  ask  Mayor  Low  to  remove  Commissioner  Partridge.  Half  an  hour 
before  the  time  at  which  a  committee  of  the  Club  was  to  present  this 
request  to  the  Mayor  the  resignation  of  Commissioner  Partridge  was 
announced. 

THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT  IN   1903  — THE  ADMINISTRA- 
TION OE  COMMISSIONER  GREENE 

Gen.  Erancis  V.  Greene,  appointed  by  Mayor  Low  to  succeed  John 
X.  Partridge  as  commissioner  of  police,  took  office  on  January  1st,  1903. 

Gen.  Green  had  taken  pains  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  under- 
lying conditions  in  the  department.  Before  entering  upon  his  duties 
he  had  consulted  with  men  who  were  familiar  with  long-standing  abuses 
in  the  department,  the  causes  of  .those  abuses,  and  the  nature  of  remedial 
measures  demanded.  Erom  the  beginning  of  his  term,  Commissioner 
Greene  showed  appreciation  of  the  problems  with  which  he  had  to  deal. 
Without  delay  he  took  vigorous  measures  to  put  an  end  to  the  systematic 
collection  of  blackmail,  and  othcrw  ise  to  improve  the  morale  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  force.  Within  half  an  hour  of  his  taking  office  Commis- 
sioner Greene  issued  radical  orders,  and  within  a  few  weeks  a  succes- 
sion of  other  radical  changes  followed.     The  necessity  of  all  these 

|+io| 


COMMISSIONER  GREENE 


61 


changes  had  been  pointed  out  in  the  report  of  The  City  Club's  committee. 
These  changes  included : 

1.  The  remanding  of  the  precinct  detectives,  popularly  called 
"  wardmen,"  to  patrol  duty,  and  the  consequent  breaking  up  of  the 
machinery  by  which  police  captains  had  developed  the  systematic  collec- 
tion of  blackmail. 

2.  Ordering  each  inspector  of  police  to  make  his  headquarters  in 
his  inspection  district.  Inspectors  had  made  department  headquarters 
their  headquarters,  and  had  spent  much  of  their  time  there.  Commis- 
sioner Greene  also  issued  an  order  requiring  captains  and  sergeants  to 
supervise  the  work  of  the  men  on  patrol.  This  requirement  had  never 
been  insisted  upon,  although  the  rules  of  the  department  expressly 
require  these  officers  to  perform  this  duty. 

3.  Making  the  superior  officers  fully  responsible  for  the  condition 
of  their  respective  districts  or  precincts. 

4.  Suspending  officers  or  patrolmen  against  whom  charges  were 
pending. 

5.  Taking  measures  to  prevent  the  award  of  medals  for  "  fake " 
rescues.  ^ 

6.  Improving  the  character  of  the  street  patrol. 

7.  The  re-organization  of  the  detective  bureati. 

8.  The  re-organization  of  the  boiler  inspection  squad. 

9.  The  re-organization  of  the  bureau  of  repairs  and  supplies. 

10.  The  re-organization  of  the  bureau  of  records  and  complaints. 

11.  The  installation  of  a  police  telephone  system. 

12.  The  re-organization  of  the  board  of  police  surgeons. 

REMANDING  OF  THE  "  WARDMEN  ft 

Upon  his  first  day  in  office  Commissioner  Greene  issued  an  order 
by  which  the  power  of  the  precinct  detectives,  popularly  known  as 
"  wardmen,"  as  instruments  of  blackmail  and  corruption,  was  broken 
up.  By  this  order  the  three  hundred  and  six  "  wardmen "  were  re- 
manded to  patrol  duty.  Every  "  wardman  "  was  transferred  to  a  pre- 
cinct remote  from  the  one  in  which  he  had  been  serving.  It  was  also 
ordered  that  no  *  wardman "  should  receive  a  detail  of  any  kind  for 
a  period  of  ninety  days.    At  the  end  of  ninety  days  new  "  wardmen  " 

[4ii] 


02 


were  put  in  the  various  precincts,  thus  breaking  up  the  old  associa- 
tion between  the  captains  and  the  "  wardmen."  After  the  expiration  of 
ninety  days  applications  were  received  to  detail  some  of  the  old  "  ward- 
men  "  to  similar  duty,  but  such  applications  were  carefully  scrutinized, 
and  were  granted  only  when  the  character  of  the  applicant,  so  far  as 
could  be  ascertained,  was  of  the  best.  Under  no  circumstances  was 
any  "  ward-man  "  allowed  to  go  back  to  a  precinct  where  he  had  done 
duty  as  il  wardman  "  during  the  previous  five  years,  or  to  a  captain  or 
inspector  with  whom  he  had  done  duty  as  a  "  wardman  "  during  the 
previous  five  years. 

INSPECTORS  ORDERED  TO  INSPECT 

A  group  of  precincts  constitutes  an  inspection  district.  There  are 
eleven  of  these  inspection  districts  in  the  city.  The  inspectors  were 
supposed  to  inspect  these  districts  and  see  that  the  captains  did  their 
work  properly.  Instead  of  inspecting,  however,  the  inspectors  before 
1903  congregated  at  department  headquarters  where  they  had  their  of- 
ficers. Some  of  them  were  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  from  their  inspec- 
tion districts.  They  did  not  seem  to  have  much  time  to  do  inspecting, 
although,  as  is  well  known,  one  of  them  was  frequently  busy  at  the 
real  estate  exchange,  and  others  at  the  horse  races.  If  illegal  resorts 
were  found  in  any  district,  the  inspector  concerned  would  contrive  to 
shift  the  blame  to  the  captain  or  other  inferior. 

By  a  radical  order  issued  within  an  hour  of  his  taking  charge  of 
the  department  Commissioner  Greene  changed  this  condition.  He  re- 
quired the  inspectors  to  have  offices  in  their  respective  districts,  and  he 
made  each  inspector  directly  responsible  for  police  conditions  in  his 
district.  Commissioner  Greene  warned  the  inspectors  that  easy-going 
supervision  would  not  be  tolerated,  and  that  his  instructions  must  be 
literally  carried  out.  Under  Commissioner  Greene's  administration  the 
duty  of  seeing  that  each  precinct  is  kept  in  good  condition  has  been 
placed  directly  upon  the  inspectors. 

SUSPENSION  OF  MEN  UNDER  CHARGES 

One  of  the  most  demoralizing  practises  in  its  effect  upon  the  force 
in  general  was  the  retention  in  active  service  of  superior  officers  and 

[412] 


TOLICE  HEADQUARTERS. 

(SMITH  STREET,  BOROUGH  OF  BROOKLYN'.) 


SUSPENSIONS,  DISMISSALS,  ETC. 


63 


other  members  of  the  force  against  whom  charges  had  been  preferred. 
Many  of  these  superiors  were  known  as  hardened  "  grafters,"  and  had 
grown  rich  by  that  process.  The  honest  men  of  the  force  had  long 
complained  unavailingly  of  the  influence,  favoritism,  or  incompetence 
which  allowed  officers  under  charges  to  retain  their  positions  and  uni- 
forms, and  to  draw  full  pay.  Patrolmen  against  whom  petty  complaints 
were  made,  were  quickly  brought  to  trial  and  punished,  while  the  su- 
perior officers  enjoyed  comparative  immunity.  This  discrimination 
was  discouraging  to  the  honest  men,  and  contributed  to  the  general 
demoralization.  Although  a  provision  in  the  charter  distinctly  author- 
ized the  commissioner  of  police  to  suspend  men  under  charges,'  Com- 
missioner Partridge  had  taken  this  action  in  two  cases  only.  On  the 
day  he  took  office  Commissioner  Greene  issued  an  order  suspending 
all  men  under  serious  charges,  and  this  policy  he  has  continued.  The 
results  have  been  most  beneficial.  When  Inspector  Cross  was  sus- 
pended he  told  an  official  of  the  department  that  the  thing  that  hurt  him 
most  was  not  the  fact  of  suspension  but  the  loss  of  his  uniform  which 
it  entailed.  The  suspension  of  men  under  charges  has  made  the  force 
as  a  whole  feel  that  "  influence  no  longer  counts,  and  that  no  distinc- 
tion of  rank  is  made  among  offenders. 

DISMISSALS  AND  RETIREMENTS 

The  dismissals  made  by  Commissioner  Greene  have  included  some 
of  the  worst  officers  in  the  department.  There  are  still  men  in  the 
force  who  have  bad  reputations,  and  who  are  known  to  have  been 
"  grafters  " ;  but  they  have  managed  "  to  cover  "  their  past  operations 
so  well  that  it  has  not  been  possible  to  secure  legal  proof  against  them. 
Moreover,  under  the  present  administration  they  have  been  forced,  by 
the  fear  of  detection  and  punishment,  to  be  on  their  H  good  behavior." 
Among  those  whom  Commissioner  Greene  dismissed,  and  who  had  par- 
ticularly bad  reputations,  were  Inspectors  Donald  Grant  and  Adam  A. 
Cross,  Captains  James  Gannon  and  John  T.  Stevenson,  and  Sergeant 
John  H.  Shiels.  Other  known  "  grafters "  applied  for  retirement 
rather  than  face  trial  on  charges.  Commissioner  Greene  thus  got  rid 
of  at  least  thirty-five  superior  officers  who  were  hardened  "  grafters." 
The  full  list  of  dismissals  and  retirements  of  inspectors,  captains,  and 

[-H3] 


64 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


sergeants,  and  of  the  men  appointed  to  their  places,  and  the  list  of 
dismissals  of  roundsmen  and  patrolmen  in  1903,  and  a  table  of 
changes  in  the  personnel  of  the  force  in  the  years  1892-1902  and 
in  the  first  eight  months  of  1903  are  given  in  Appendix  II.,  page  84. 

APPOINTMENTS  AND  PROMOTIONS 

Under  the  present  administration  no  applicant  for  a  position  on  the 
force  and  no  member  of  the  force  has  had  to  pay  tribute  for  appoint- 
ment or  promotion.  Commissioner  Greene  has  never  informed  any  one 
of  his  plans  or  intentions  in  regard  to  appointments  or  promotions,  so 
that  no  one  has  known  in  advance  whether  he  was  going  to  be  appointed 
or  promoted.  Under  these  conditions  any  payments  made  have  there- 
fore been  made  to  persons  who  could  not  ?  deliver  the  goods  "  and  have 
been  accepted  under  false  pretenses.  No  member  of  the  force  who  has 
been  appointed  or  promoted  by  Commissioner  Greene  has  had  the  old 
excuse  that  he  must  recoup  himself  for  such  a  payment  by  collecting- 
blackmail  from  law-breakers. 

MORALE  AND  DISCIPLINE 

The  placing  of  direct  responsibility  upon  the  inspectors  and  the  sus- 
pension of  men  under  charges  were,  however,  only  important  details  in 
Commissioner  Greene's  general  effort  to  improve  morale  and  discipline. 
From  the  patrolman  up,  every  member  of  the  force  has  been  required 
to  do  his  duty.  No  slipshod  methods  have  been  tolerated.  Until  Com- 
missioner Greene  took  office  patrolmen  on  beat  were  practically  not 
subject  to  supervision  by  any  officers  higher  than  roundsmen.  The 
means  by  which  the  efficiency  of  the  force  has  been  raised  may  be  sum- 
marized: — 

K  The  patrolman,  in  addition  to  constant  and  regular  inspection  of 
his  post,  is  required  to  keep  a  memorandum  book  of  all  duties  performed 
of  a  police  nature.  This  memorandum  book  is  subjected  later  to  the 
scrutiny  and  certification  of  the  desk  sergeant  at  the  end  of  each  tour  of 
patrol. 

2.  The  roundsmen  have  immediate  charge  and  supervision  of  patrol- 
men on  patrol.  They  are  required  to  supervise  thoroughly  the  duties 
of  patrolmen,  and  arc  held  to  rigid  accountability  for  the  work  of  the 
patrolmen.    Each  roundsman  is  required  to  enter,  in  a  book  kept  by 


MORALE  AND  DISCIPLINE 


65 


him  for  the  purpose,  the  name  and  the  post  of  each  patrolman  met  by 
him,  with  the  hour  and  the  place  of  meeting.  The  roundsman's  reports 
are  subject  to  inspection  and  certification  by  the  commanding  officer  of 
the  precinct,  who,  for  his  own  safety,  must  be  certain  that  his  sub- 
ordinates are  not  shirking  their  duties. 

3.  Sergeants,  when  not  on  desk  duty,  must  make  rounds  of  the  pre- 
cinct in  the  same  manner  as  roundsmen.  The  sergeants'  reports  are 
subject  to  inspection  and  certification  by  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
precinct.  The  penalty  for  false  statements  in  these  memoranda  is 
immediate  dismissal  from  the  department. 

4.  Captains  and  inspectors  are  required  to  do  inspection  duty  and  to 
keep  written  memoranda  subject  to  the  inspection  of  higher  officials. 

5.  Inspectors  are  required  to  live  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  center 
of  their  respective  districts,  and  to  exercise  constant  supervision  and  juris- 
diction over  their  districts,  this  inspection  being  at  irregular  hours  of 
day  and  night. 

6.  The  deputy  commissioners  also  inspect  from  time  to  time  the  dif- 
ferent precincts,  giving  particular  attention  to  the  condition  of  station 
houses  and  to  entries  in  the  blotters. 

7.  The  present  police  commissioner  has,  during  his  term  of  office, 
personally  visited  and  inspected  every  one  of  the  stations  and  sub- 
stations in  the  Greater  New  York;  and  at  each  of  these  visits  he  has 
given  special  consideration  to  the  comfort  of  the  men.  As  the  result  of 
these  inspections  preliminary  plans  for  the  construction  of  a  number  of 
new  station  houses  to  replace  old  and  unsanitary  houses  have  been 
drafted,  and  also  preliminary  plans  for  a  new  central  headquarters 
building. 

THE    UNIFORMED    FORCE    AND    THE  PUBLIC 

Commissioner  Greene  has  repeatedly  called  the  attention  of  the 
force  to  their  duties  towards  the  public.  As  set  forth  by  law  these 
duties  are:  first,  the  preservation  of  the  lives  and  property  of  citizens; 
second,  arrests  for  lesser  crimes;  third,  arrests  for  violations  of  the  city 
ordinances.  In  the  furtherance  of  these  duties,  officers  have  received 
instructions  that  they  are  to  co-operate  with  the  public.  They  have  been 
instructed  to  give  immediate  attention  to  all  complaints.    As  a  result  of 

[4i5] 


66 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


the  courteous  treatment  now  given  at  station  houses  and  the  courteous 
attention  paid  at  headquarters  to  complaints  made  in  person  or  in  writ- 
ing, the  public  experiences  no  trouble  in  complaining  of  cases  of  alleged 
violations  of  law  or  of  other  matters  demanding  police  attention.  A 
letter,  whether  signed  or  anonymous,  is  promptly  investigated  and 
reported  upon. 

THE  PRESENT  PATROL  SYSTEM 

Until  1901  the  police  force  worked  under  what  is  known  as  the  two- 
platoon  system.  Under  this  system  the  command  of  each  precinct  was 
divided  into  two  platoons  of  two  sections  each.  In  1901,  Commissioner 
Murphy  instituted  the  three-platoon  system.  Each  platoon  was  divided 
into  three  sections,  and  each  section  performed  eight  hours  of  patrol 
daily,  and  was  upon  reserve  duty  at  the  station  house  for  eight  hours 
every  third  day. 

This  system  was  opposed  by  many  citizens,  some  newspapers  and  also 
by  some  of  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  police  officers.  In  February, 
1902,  Commissioner  Partridge  abolished  the  three-platoon  system,  and 
restored  the  old  system. 

Commissioner  Greene  disapproved  both  the  two-platoon  and  the 
three-platoon  system.  The  two-platoon  system,  which  required  sixteen 
hours  of  actual  work  daily  from  the  men,  he  thought  was  too  hard 
upon  the  force.  The  three-platoon  system  Commissioner  Greene  consid- 
ered unsatisfactory,  because  under  that  system  the  reserve  was  too 
small,  being  only  one-ninth  of  the  entire  force.  While  the  two-platoon 
system  required  the  men  to  devote  sixteen  hours  a  day  to  duty,  and  the 
three-platoon  ten  hours  and  forty  minutes  a  day  to  duty,  much  addi- 
tional duty  was  required  of  the  men  in  connection  with  riots,  strikes, 
drills,  parades,  etc. 

In  January,  1903,  Commissioner  Greene  adopted  a  six-section  sys- 
tem. Under  this  system  each  man  was  required  to  give  twelve  hours  a 
day  to  the  work  of  the  department  (eight  hours  on  patrol  and  four  hours 
on  reserve),  each  man  doing  patrol  duty  for  three  weeks  at  night  and 
three  weeks  by  day  alternately. 

On  June  22d,  1903,  Commissioner  Greene  modified  the  six-section 
system  by  ordering  eight  hours  patrol  daily  and  eight  hours  reserve 

[416] 


PATROLMEN  GOING  ON  PATROL  DUTY. 
(sixty-seventh  street  police  station.) 


TRANSFERS  AND  "DETAILS' 


67 


every  other  day.  This  system  requires  each  man  to  devote  an  average 
of  twelve  hours  a  day  to  the  department.  It  is,  however,  a  far  more 
satisfactory  system  to  the  men  than  the  original  six-section  system,  as 
each  man  has  sixteen  hours  to  himself  every  other  day  and  thirty-two 
consecutive  hours  every  third  week.  At  the  same  time  it  strengthens 
the  reserve  force,  as  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  the  men  on  reserve  duty 
absent  leave  for  meals.  A  diagram  of  this  system  of  patrol  is  given  in 
Appendix  III,  page  89. 

TRANSFERS  AND  "  DETAILS." 

Under  previous  administrations  patrolmen  were  subjected  in  general 
to  a  more  or  less  promiscuous  transferring  from  precinct  to  precinct. 
They  were  often  transferred  long  distances  from  their  homes.  These 
transfers  were  made  ostensibly  for  the  "  good  of  the  service.'"  It  was 
well  understood  that  this  frequent  shifting  was  often  employed  as  a 
means  for  extorting  "  graft."  If  a  patrolman  paid  an  amount,  variously 
ranging  from  $25  to  $50,  he  found  no  difficulty  in  securing  a  transfer 
back  to  a  precinct  near  his  home.  "  Details  "  were  also  used  for  "  shake- 
downs." A  "'  detail  "  is  an  assignment  to  special  service  in  a  public 
building,  a  departmental  office,  etc.  It  takes  a  patrolman  off  patrol 
duty,  calls  for  less  arduous  work,  and  relieves  him  from  night  and  Sun- 
day duty.  Under  Tammany  these  "  details "  were  distributed  among 
favored  patrolmen,  most  of  whom  had  been  but  a  short  time  in  the  de- 
partment and  were  comparatively  young  men.  Older  men  in  the  service 
were  discriminated  against.  It  was  understood  that  upon  payment  of 
from  $200  to  $300  a  patrolman  could  get  one  of  these  "  details." 

Under  Commissioner  Greene's  administration  every  application  for 
a  transfer  has  been  subjected  to  rigid  investigation.  It  has  had  to  re- 
ceive in  turn  the  written  indorsement  of  the  captain,  the  inspector,  and 
the  chief  inspector  before  finally  reaching  the  police  commissioner  for 
action.  The  papers  upon  which  the  application  is  granted  are  filed 
away  for  reference,  with  the  reason  for  the  transfer  fully  stated. 

The  assignment  of  "  details  "  is  no  longer  regulated  by  favoritism 
or  by  payments  of  money.  Commissioner  Greene  first  reduced  the  ex- 
cessive number  of  these  "details."  Most  of  the  young  patrolmen  who 
filled  them,  and  who  were  physically  better  able  to  patrol  the  streets 
than  the  older  patrolmen,  have  been  remanded  to  patrol  duty.  Their 

[4i7] 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


"  details  "  have  been  given  generally  in  order  of  seniority  to  patrolmen 
who  have  served  more  than  fifteen  years,  and  who  have  good  records. 

AWARD    OF    MEDALS.  HONORABLE    MENTION.  COMMENDATIONS 

Before  Febuary  3d,  1903,  the  awarding  of  medals  and  the  giving 
of  honorable  mention  and  commendation  to  policemen  was  often  a  far- 
cical proceeding.  Not  only  are  these  tributes  matters  of  pride,  but  they 
count  in  examinations  for  promotion.  In  these  examinations  a  medal 
counts  for  seven  points,  honorable  mention  for  five  points,  and  commen- 
dation for  three  points. 

Under  the  Tammany  administration  it  was  well  known  in  police 
circles  that  "  fake  "  rescues  and  other  bogus  heroic  actions  often  ap- 
peared in  the  records  to  the  credit  of  favored  men.  In  one  case  the 
"  rescue  of  a  drowning  man "  standing  to  the  credit  of  a  policeman 
represented  the  voluntary  immersion  of  a  tramp  in  a  watering  trough 
from  which  he  was  pulled  by  the  rescuer.  The  commissioners  of  police 
made  no  independent  investigations  in  cases  of  this  kind.  The  captain 
reported  to  the  inspector  information  received  at  the  station  house  of 
acts  of  real  or  alleged  bravery  on  the  part  of  patrolmen,  and  the  in- 
spector made  a  report  with  recommendation.  Under  this  system  it  was 
easy  for  a  favored  patrolman  to  get  rewards  which  he  did  not  deserve. 

On  February  3d,  1903,  Commissioner  Greene  issued  an  order  requir- 
ing a  full  report  of  the  circumstances  to  be  made  by  the  captain  of  the" 
precinct  in  each  case  and  an  independent  investigation  to  be  made  by 
the  inspector  of  the  district.  In  the  same  order  a  distinction  was  drawn 
between  a  recommendation  for  a  medal,  an  honorable  mention  and  a 
commendation. 

THE  BUREAU  OF  RECORDS  AND  COMPLAINTS 

The  bureau  of  records  and  complaints  is  one  of  the  most  important 
branches  of  the  department.  The  records  of  the  antecedents  and  status 
of  every  member  of  the  force  are  kept  in  this  bureau.  When  an  officer 
is  delinquent  in  his  duties,  his  superiors  forward  a  complaint  to  this 
bureau.  The  bureau  notifies  the  delinquent  officer  of  the  time  and  the 
date  of  the  trial.  The  bureau  keeps  records  of  appointments,  promo- 
tions, fines,  awards  of  medals,  honorable  mention  —  in  brief,  of  all  h.c{< 
dealing  with  the  official  career  of  every  member  of  the  force. 

[418I 


THE  COMPLAINT  BUREAU 


60 


Before  January  ist,  1903,  this  bureau  was  in  a  most  demoralized 
condition,  as  was  disclosed  in  the  trial  of  "  Gus  "  Peterson,  the  com- 
plaint clerk,  before  Deputy-Commissioner  Piper  early  in  1903.  For 
twenty  years  Peterson  had  been  acting  complaint  clerk.  During  that 
period  no  full  appointment  had  been  made.  On  December  31st,  1902, 
Commissioner  Partridge  appointed  John  J.  Corkhill,  his  private  secre- 
tary, complaint  clerk.  The  evidence  unearthed  by  Mr.  Corkhill  resulted 
in  Peterson's  trial  and  his  dismissal  from  the  department  by  Commis- 
sioner Greene. 

Under  Peterson  nine-tenths  of  the  employees  were  totally  incom- 
petent, and  some  were  corrupt.  For  a  payment  varying  from  $100  to 
$1,000  a  policeman  could  have  a  record  altered.  The  complaint  clerk 
or  others  in  the  bureau  would  obliterate  or  change  a  record  of  charges 
so  that  the  officer's  career  on  the  force  would  appear  greatly  to  the 
officer's  advantage.  Many  officers  had  records  so  bad  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  them  to  be  promoted  to  a  higher  office,  even  though  they 
should  attain  the  highest  percentage  in  the  mental  examination.  After 
attempting  two  or  three  examinations  and  realizing  that  their  past 
career  had  been  so  bad  as  to  militate  against  their  future  chances  of 
advancement,  they  were  often  willing  to  accept  the  proposal  of  the  act- 
ing complaint  clerk  or  his  emissary  and  traffic  with  him  for  the  purifi- 
cation of  their  records  of  complaints.  This  bribing  had  been  carried 
on  for  many  years.  There  is  proof  that  it  was  carried  on  even  during 
the  year  1902,  but  no  tangible  evidence  has  been  collected  against  those 
then  in  charge. 

Sinc^  January  ist,  1903,  over  1,100  records  have  been  restored  to 
their  proper  state.  One  man,  for  instance,  was  found  to  have  had 
seventy-one  days'  fines  wiped  from  his  record,  while  his  record  as 
altered  still  shows  seventy  days'  fines  against  him. 

Because  of  the  corrupt  omission  of  sixteen  days'  fines  from  his 
record  which  was  forwarded  to  the  civil  service  commission  when  Ser- 
geant Deevy  took  his  examination  for  the  rank  of  captain,  Commissioner 
Greene,  after  Deevy  had  been  appointed  captain,  reduced  him  to  the 
rank  of  sergeant.  There  are  many  similar  cases,  but  the  Deevy  case 
has  been  made  a  test,  Sergeant  Deevy  having  applied  to  the  courts  for 
re-instatement.    The  case  has  not  yet  been  finally  decided. 

[419] 


7o 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


For  many  years  before  1902  police  lawyers,  money  sharks,  diamond 
brokers,  and  others  of  like  character,  had  free  access  to  the  complaint 
clerk's  office.  The  money  broker  would  charge  the  officer  25  per  cent, 
per  month  for  the  use  of  money,  and  being  in  collusion  with  the  com- 
plaint clerk  would  immediately  make  charges  against  him  if  he  did  not 
pay  the  usurious  fees.  The  diamond  broker  would  sell  jewelry  on  the 
installment  plan  at  an  advance  of  50  per  cent.,  and  should  the  officer  be 
derelict  in  his  payments,  the  broker's  friend,  the  former  complaint  clerk, 
would  immediately  place  a  charge  against  the  patrolman  in  arrears. 
Very  often  for  a  "consideration"  the  police  lawyers  would  have  a 
charge  against  an  officer  suppressed  and  never  brought  to  trial. 

•From  a  filthy  and  inadequate  office  the  complaint  bureau  has  been 
transferred  into  a  modern  business  office  thoroughly  equipped  with  up 
to-date  material.  New  and  accurate  index  systems  and  systematic 
methods  of  book-keeping  and  record-keeping  have  been  substituted  for 
the  soap-box  depositories  and  old-fashioned  methods  which  were  in  use 
when  Commissioner  Greene  took  office. 

THE  BOARD  OF   POLICE  SURGEONS 

There  are  twenty-three  police  surgeons,  all  members  of  the  force. 
These  surgeons  are  appointed  after  a  civil  service  examination.  Before 
October  7th,  1903,  the  surgeons  elected  annually  two  of  their  number 
as  president  and  secretary,  respectively.  The  city  is  divided  into  sur- 
geon  districts,  and  a  surgeon  is  assigned  to  each  district.  It  is  the  duty 
of  the  surgeons  to  attend  sick  members  of  the  force,  to  keep  records  of 
all  "  sick  time,"  and  to  make  monthly  reports  of  their  work,  'the  board 
of  police  surgeons  investigates  and  reports  upon  the  physical  condition 
of  all  persons  applying  for  appointment  to  the  force,  and  of  all  members 
of  the  force  applying  for  promotion  and  retirement. 

Under  Tammany  the  police  surgeons  derived  a  rich  revenue  from 
making  favorable  reports  on  the  physical  condition  of  applicants  for 
appointment  to  the  force,  and  on  that  of  members  of  the  force  taking  the 
examination  for  promotion.  Tf  a  patrolman  or  other  member  of  the 
force  was  under  charges  for  intoxication,  the  police  surgeon  who  ex- 
amined him  at  the  time  the  charge  was  made  would  give,  upon  payment 
of  twenty-five  dollars,  such  favorable  testimony  as  would  result  in  the 

1 420] 


HOARD  OF  SURGEONS 


charges  being  dismissed  on  trial.  It  was  a  common  joke  about  police 
'Headquarters  that  when  a  police  surgeon  said  that  he  would  testify 
against  a  member  of  the  force  he  was  >]  hard  up  "  and  expected  to  be 

On  October  7th.  1903,  Commissioner  Greene  reorganized  the  board 
of  police  surgeons  by  rescinding  the  department  rule  which  gave  the 
surgeons  the  right  to  elect  their  own  officers,  and  by  placing  in  charge 
of  the  Board  Dr.  Edward  T.  T.  Marsh,  himself  a  police  surgeon  of 
twenty-five  years'  experience,  and  a  man  of  excellent  record. 

The  commissioner  had  long  been  dissatisfied  with  the  work  of  the 
board  of  surgeons  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Stephen  G.  Cook,  who 
had  been  chief  surgeon  for  many  years.  It  appeared  to  be  impossible  to 
get  the  board  to  retire  certain  men  who  were  believed  to  be  incapable 
of  performing  proper  police  duty.  In  one  instance  the  board  recently 
certified  to  the  good  health  of  a  patrolman  who,  according  to  hospital 
surgeons,  had  lost  almost  an  entire  lung.  There  was  also  somewhat  of 
a  scandal  three  months  ago  over  a  discovery  by  the  surgeons  of  the 
Civil  Service  Commission,  that  the  police  surgeons  were  using  a  stand- 
ard of  measure  that  could  be  "  worked "  in  favor  of  candidates  who 
lacked  the  requisite  height  for  appointment  on  the  force. 

The  official  order  reorganizing  the  Board  was  as  follows : 

"  Ordered.  That  under  the  authority  conferred  upon  the  Police  Com- 
"  missioner  by  section  202  of  the  Greater  New  York  charter,  the  fol- 
"  lowing  change  is  made  in  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Police  De- 
"  partment  of  the  city  of  New  York,  namely: 

The  official  order  reorganizing  the  board  was  as  follows : 

"  The  Police  Commissioner  shall  appoint  and  remove,  at  pleasure, 
"  from  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Surgeons,  a  president,  who  shall  be 
"  chief  surgeon,  and  a  secretary. 

"  A  majority  of  the  members  shall  form  a  quorum  for  business.  They 
"  may  adopt  by-laws  for  the  government  of  their  meetings  not  incon- 
"  sistent  with  law  or  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Police  Department. 

"  Ordered.  That  under  the  provisions  of  Rule  10,  paragraph  b,  as 
"  this  day  amended,  Dr.  E.  T.  T.  Marsh,  Police  Surgeon,  is  hereby  ap- 
"  pointed  chief  surgeon  and  President  of  the  Board  of  Police  Surgeons, 
"  and  Dr.  Henry  P.  De  Forest,  police  surgeon,  is  hereby  appointed  sec- 
"  retary  of  the  Board  of  Surgeons." 

[421] 


12 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


Dr.  Marsh  is  a  surgeon  in  the  Seventy-first  Regiment,  and  received 
a  medal  for  life-saving  at  the  Park  Avenue  Hotel  fire  last  year.  Gen. 
Greene  has  known  him  for  a  long  time,  and  thinks  very  highly  of  him. 
Dr.  De  Forest,  who  succeeds  Dr.  Smith  as  secretary  of  the  Board,  was, 
until  a  few  months  ago,  a  surgeon  on  the  staff  of  the  Municipal  Civil 
Service  Commission.  President  Ogden  of  the  latter  body  said  when  he 
was  transferred  to  the  Police  Department  that  he  was  not  only  very 
competent,  but  "  as  straight  as  a  string." 

THE  DETECTIVE  BUREAU 

All  robberies,  burglaries,  larcenies,  homicides,  kidnapping  and  sus- 
picious deaths  are  reported  at  once  to  the  detective  bureau  by  the  pre- 
cincts for  investigation.  The  detective  bureau  makes  an  investigation 
independently  of  that  carried  on  by  the  precinct  force.  The  bureau  is 
equipped  with  a  photograph  bureau.  All  persons  charged  with  felony 
and  all  professional  criminals  are  photographed,  and  are  measured  under 
the  Bertillon  system.  The  central  office  of  the  bureau  of  detectives  is 
at  number  300  Mulberry  Street,  Manhattan,  and  a  branch  office  is  main- 
tained at  the  Brooklyn  borough  headquarters,  number  16  Smith  Street. 
The  force  of  the  detective  bureau  is  made  up  of  patrolmen  and  rounds- 
men who  are  supposed  to  be  especially  qualified  for  detective  duly. 
These  detectives  are  called  detective-sergeants.  There  are  J71  of  these 
officers  now  attached  to  the  detective  bureau. 

Commissioner  Partridge  made  a  partial  attempt  to  re-organize  this 
bureau.  He  remanded  174  detective-sergeants  to  patrol  duty.  Many  of 
these  men  were  close  friends  of  Devery,  and  were  deeply  implicated  in 
"  the  system."  Rather  than  resume  patrol  duty  several  resigned. 
Others,  taking  advantage  of  section  290  in  the  charter  of  1901,  by  which 
their  rank  was  made  a  permanent  one  with  a  salary  of  $2,000  a  year, 
and  by  which  they  were  given  the  same  rights  of  promotion  as  any  other 
sergeant  of  police,  contested  in  the  courts  the  legality  of  the  order  re- 
manding to  patrol  duty.  The  Court  of  Appeals  sustained  their  con- 
tention. 

Commissioner  Greene  was  forced  to  re-instate  170  of  these  men  itf 
sergeants.  He  assigned  as  many  of  them  as  he  could  to  desk  work  in  the 
precincts  instead  of  restoring  them  to  detective  duty. 

[422] 


THE  ''BOILER  SQUAD' 


1$ 


Other  measures,  however,  were  taken  by  Commissioner  Greene  to 
reorganize  the  detective  bureau.  Captain  Titus,  who  had  long  been  in 
command,  was  sent  to  precinct  duty,  and  the  entire  detective  bureau 
was  placed  under  charge  of  Inspector  Brooks,  with  Captain  Langan  com- 
manding in  the  Manhattan  office  and  Captain  Formosa  in  the  Brooklyn 
office.  Inspector  Brooks  did  not  give  satisfaction,  and  he  was  promptly 
removed  from  command  of  the  bureau,  and  Inspector  McClusky  was 
appointed  in  his  place. 

Under  Inspector  McClusky  the  bureau  has  been  raised  to  a  high 
state  of  efficiency.  Upon  taking  charge  of  the  bureau  Inspector  Mc- 
Clusky "  rounded  up  "  several  hundred  well-known  "  crooks,"  confidence 
men  and  pickpockets  who  before  had  not  been  molested.  This  vigorous 
action  of  the  detective  bureau  under  Commissioner  Greene  has  resulted 
in  the  city's  being  generally  cleared  of  swindlers  and  desperate  char- 
acters. The  detective  work  in  murder  cases  has  been  better  than  ever 
before.  In  twelve  cases  of  homicide  which  the  bureau  has  had  to  in- 
vestigate in  1003,  the  guilty  persons  have  been  arrested  in  eleven  cases. 

THE  "  BOILER  SQUAD  " 

The  steam  boiler  inspection  and  engineers'  bureau  is  an  anomalous 
hianch  of  the  department.  Its  work  is  not  properly  police  work.  Its 
general  duties  are  the  testing  and  inspecting  of  all  stationary  steam 
boilers  excepting  those  which  carry  less  than  ten  pounds  of  steam.  The 
duties  of  the  bureau  were  enlarged  by  an  ordinance  which  went  into 
effect  cn  September  1st,  1903,  giving  it  supervision  over  all  boilers 
operated  on  bridges  and  in  schools  and  boats.  The  bureau  further  ex- 
amines persons  applying  for  engineers'  or  firemen's  certificates;  it 
issues  licenses  to  operate  steam  plants;  it  keeps  records  of  all  boiler 
tests  and  inspections  and  of  the  location  of  all  steam  plants  and  the 
names  of  their  owners;  it  authorizes  the  transfer  of  licensed  engineers 
and  firemen  from  one  steam  plant  to  another;  and  it  renews  annually 
the  licenses  of  engineers  and  firemen.  Upon  its  recommendation  the 
commissioner  of  police  can  revoke  the  license  of  any  engineer  or  fire- 
man,        y    1      ..jk,  •  j*       nF  ,rY*4  ,/ti?  nu  nj.<jm  .fp  'o 

The  bureau  is  under  the  charge  of  a  sergeant  of  police.  Subordi- 
nate to  the  sergeant  are  one  roundsman,  one  superintendent  of  steam 

[423] 


74 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


boilers,  four  boiler  inspectors,  five  patrolmen  on  duty  inspecting  and 
testing  steam  boilers,  three  patrolmen  who  act  as  examining  engineers, 
one  patrolman  who  acts  as  wagon  driver,  three  civilian  wagon  drivers, 
and  ten  patrolmen  on  clerical  duty.  For  each  boiler  inspected  a  fee  of 
two  dollars  is  charged.  The  annual  sum  thus  collected  amounts  to  about 
$26,000.    This  money  goes  to  the  pension  fund  of  the  department. 

The  following  testimony  given  before  the  "  Mazet  Committee  "  in 
1899  by  John  B.  Sexton,  one  of  the  commissioners  of  police,  indicates 
what  the  "boiler  squad"'  was  under  Tammany: 

Bv  Mr.  Moss  : 

We  have  a  squad  called  a  boiler  squad,  its  duties  are  looking  after 
all  the  engineers'  licenses  throughout  the  city. 

Q.  After  engineers'  licenses  —  is  that  all  ?    A.  Boilers. 

O.  What  do  they  do  about  boilers?    A.  They  inspect  them. 

Q.  Do  they  have  a  competent  engineer,  do  you  have  a  competent 
engineer  in  the  employ  of  the  department  to  do  the  inspecting?    A.  Yes. 

Q.  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  is  done  by  common  policemen? 
A.  T  believe  there  are  some  engineers. 

Q.  There  are  some  engineers  specially  employed?    A.  Yes. 

O.  Then  the  testing  of  boilers  is  not  actually  done  by  policemen,  is 
it?  A.  I  believe  there  are  engineers  there  on  the  force;  they  have  got 
I  think  a  sergeant  as  an  engineer  that  has  got  charge  of  the  department. 

O.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  business  of  issuing  licenses  to  en- 
gineers and  of  the  examination  of  steam  boilers  in  this  city  is  com- 
mitted to  uniformed  policemen  or  do  you  have  in  your  employ  some 
competent  trained  engineers  for  that  purpose?  A.  There  is  a  sergeant 
at  the  head  of  that  department  that  is  an  engineer,  and  he  has  got  charge 
of  it. 

(J.  He  is  an  engineer?  A.  He  examines  all  the  applicants.  I  be- 
lieve. 

Q.  Well,  he  happens  to  be  an  engineer,  but  suppose  you  had  no 
-crgeant  that  was  an  engineer,  what  would  you  do  then?  A.  I  suppose 
we  would  have  to  get  one  then. 

Q.  Does  this  sergeant  receive  any  extra  compensation  because  of 
his  engineering  ability?    A.  No.  , 

Q.  Then,  do  you  mean  to  say  that  all  of  the  steam  boilers  in  the 
city  have  to  be  inspected  by  a  sergeant  of  police?  A.  Oh,  no;  he  has  a 
dozen  of  men  under  him.  , 


THE  "BOILER  SQUAD' 


75 


[}.  Policemen  or  engineers?   A.  Policemen,  I  believe. 
Q.  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  all  the  steam  boilers  in  New  York  have 
to  be  inspected,  to  be  practically  licensed  by  police  officers?    A.  That 

arc  engineers. 

Q.  Suppose  yon  did  not  have  a  sufficient  number  of  engineers  in 
the  department,  what  are  the  provisions  of  the  law?  A.  How  was  it 
when  you  were  there?    Ain't  it  just  the  same? 

Q.  You  are  not  asking  me  questions;  I  am  asking  you.  A.  I  am 
telling  you,  ain't  I  ? 

O.  Suppose  you  had  not  sufficient  number  of  policemen  that  under- 
stood boilers?    A.  Then  I  suppose  we  would  have  to  get  engineers. 

By  the  Chairman: 

(  ).  How  many  other  men  arc  employed  for  that  purpose?  A.  I 
think  there  are  about  ten  or  twelve  under  this  sergeant  who  do  not  have 
any  other  work  to  do.   They  are  inspecting  boilers  all  the  time. 

By  Mr.  Moss: 

Q.  There  are  at  present  two  police  officers  that  are  connected  with 
that  squad  that  are  under  indictment  and  about  to  be  tried  under  accu- 
sation of  taking  money?  A.  They  have  been  dismissed  from  the  force 
and  are  not  members  of  the  force. 

By  the  Chairman: 

Jrtpuoid  9g£:>  siTi     .inafrmiiqsb  snJ  to  eoiO09i  Jilouq  aril  ^tuJiu 

(J.  How  are  their  places  supplied  —  by  taking  men  from  the  force? 
A.  Yes  |  I  suppose  they  try  to  get  engineers  that  are  on  the  force. 
O.  They  may  have  some  special  qualifications?    A.  Oh,  yes. 
Q.  Who  passes  upon  those  qualifications?    A.  The  sergeant. 

By  Mr.  Moss: 

Q.  Sergeant  in  charge?  A.  Yes.  The  chief  assigns  the  police 
officers  to  the  boiler  squad.  Of  course  those  men  do  not  have  to  do  the 
ordinary  patrol  duty.  We  have  not  made  any  changes  in  it  since  I  have 
been  there.  I  suppose  policemen  rather  like  that  detail.  They  get  no 
compensation. 

-teoq  ibrtt  ioI  bdriilfitip  flaw  3i&  orfw  nom  k>  qu  sbcm  v/otr  ei  WK*mjd 
Under  Tammany  the  "  boiler  squad "  was  a  fertile  ff  grafting " 
bureau.    If  a  business  man  did  not  pay  the  required  tribute,  the  inspector 
would  put  him  to  great  annoyance  and  considerable  financial  loss  by 

[425] 


76 


causing  his  boiler  to  be  examined  during  hours  when  the  shutting  off  of 
steam  would  cause  inconvenience. 

On  April  ist,  1903,  Commissioner  Greene  found  that  conditions  in 
this  bureau  called  for  a  complete  reorganization. 

The  records  of  the  bureau  were  a  confused  mass  stored  away  in 
barrels  and  boxes.  Records  were  found  falsified,  books  were  scattered 
about  on  the  floors  and  tables,  and  the  bureau  was  generally  in  a  dis- 
organized and  confused  state.  Of  the  twenty-five  patrolmen  on  duty  in 
the  bureau  Commissioner  Greene  found  that  only  about  nine  were  com- 
petent. 

Complaints  were  constantly  coming  in  from  citizens  that  they  could 
not  obtain  either  prompt  or  proper  inspection  of  their  boilers.  "  Fake  " 
reports  were  made  by  the  bureau  force.  Engineers  were  licensed  pro- 
miscuously. Certificates  for  the  purpose  were  made  out  in  advance, 
stamped  with  rubber  stamps;  and  any  officer  in  the  bureau  could  issue 
a  license  without  a  fellow  officer  having  any  knowledge  of  it.  Polit- 
ical demands  that  men  with  practically  no  qualifications  be  made  en- 
gineers were  frequently  acceded  to.  These  were  some  of  the  more 
notorious  abuses  that  existed  in  this  bureau  under  the  Tammany  ad- 
ministration. In  1903  these  conditions  brought  about  the  arrest  of  a 
patrolman  doing  duty  in  the  bureau,  who  was  charged  with  collusion 
with  an  outsider,  and  with  aiding  and  abetting  in  falsifying  and  muti- 
lating the  public  records  of  the  department.  The  case  was  brought 
before  a  magistrate,  and  it  came  out  in  the  evidence  that  $100  had  been 
paid  for  each  of  two  licenses  to  engineers.  The  extent  to  which  this 
practice  was  indulged  in  is  not  known  and  will  never  be  known  because 
of  the  mutilated  state  of  the  bureau's  records. 

Commissioner  Greene  removed  Sergeant  Frank  Mangin,  who  was 
in  charge  of  the  bureau,  and  appointed  Sergeant  George  W.  Brown  in 
his  place.  Of  the  bureau's  force  nine  were  transferred  to  police  duty, 
and  one  was  suspended  by  Commissioner  Greene. 

During  the  administration  of  Commissioner  Greene  the  "boiler 
squad  has  done  its  duties  honestly  and  efficiently.  The  force  of  the 
bureau  is  now  made  up  of  men  who  are  well  qualified  for  their  posi- 
tions. The  records  are  kept  systematically.  Engineers  and  firemen 
are  licensed  upon  their  merits.  The  bureau  endeavors  to  make  its 
inspection  of  steam  boilers  at  times  when  the  inconvenience  and  in- 

[426] 


POLICK    HOAT  PATROL. 


REPAIRS  AND  SUPPLIES 


77 


terruption  to  business  will  be  as  small  as  possible.  Since  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  bureau  there  has  not  been  a  steam  casualty  in  the  city  —  a 
record  not  equalled  under  any  previous  administration.  A  record  is 
now  kept  of  the  qualifications  of  all  school  janitors  who  act  as  engineers 
and  their  competency  is  carefully  inquired  into.  This  had  never  been 
done  before. 

BUREAU  OF  REPAIRS  AND  SUPPLIES 

The  personnel  of  the  bureau  consists  of  the  inspector  of  repairs  and 
supplies,  a  mechanical  force  of  fourteen  men,  together  with  several  mem- 
bers of  the  uniformed  force  assigned  to  clerical  duty. 

The  bureau  maintains  a  complete  record  of  operations,  showing  the 
supplies  on  hand  and  the  distribution  of  the  supplies  to  the  precincts 
upon  approved  requisitions.  Beginning  January  ist,  1903,  a  new  sys- 
tem of  requisitions  was  instituted  under  which  a  stock  of  supplies 
is,  with  the  approval  of  the  commissioner,  furnished  monthly  and 
quarterly.  Steps  were  also  taken  to  prevent  the  issuance  of  requisi- 
tions which  may  not  be  filled,  all  of  which  has  resulted  in  decreas- 
ing the  total  number  of  requisitions  by  one  third,  giving  better 
results.  General  alterations,  repairing  and  painting  17  station  houses, 
and  the  central  department  building  are  being  made  under  public  con- 
tract. Four  new  patrol  wagons  have  been  ordered  after  public  bid- 
ding. During  the  year  nearly  all  contracts  for  supplies  and  repairs  have 
been  awarded  after  public  bidding,  with  the  best  results. 

Ja-iuary  ist,  1903,  found  the  department  almost  destitute  of  coal. 
The  coal  famine  was  then  at  its  height,  and  it  was  impossible  to  make 
a  contract  for  the  department's  -coal.  The  police  commissioner,  having 
rejected  the  one  excessive  bid  received  in  response  to  public  advertising, 
directed  that  informal  bids  be  invited  for  furnishing  coal  as  actually  re- 
quired until  conditions  make  it  possible  to  obtain  proper  response  to 
public  proposals.  This  method,  prevailing  for  the  first  ten  weeks  of  the 
year,  gave  entire  satisfaction,  and  resulted  in  saving  many  thousands  of 
dollars  to  the  city.  Many  minor  changes  ordered  and  effected  during 
the  year  in  the  management  of  the  bureau  have  resulted  in  a  more  effi- 
cient handling  of  its  affairs. 

Upon  the  whole,  there  has  been  a  general  and  pronounced  improve - 

[427] 


7* 


THE  POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


ment  in  the  condition  of  the  department  buildings,  in  the  purchase 
and  administration  of  supplies,  and  in  the  handling  of  the  work  of  the 
bureau. 

PATROL  SIGNAL  SYSTEM 

On  taking  office  January  ist  of  this  year  General  Greene  at  once 
took  in  hand  the  important  matter  of  installing  an  adequate  system  of 
telephone  communication  for  patrol  service.  He  has  now  completed 
arrangements  for  installing  such  a  system  with  661  stations  in  the 
Borough  of  Manhattan,  at  a  comparatively  small  cost.  One  of  these 
boxes  will  be  located  on  each  beat  or  at  the  junction  of  two  beats,  so 
that  all  the  officers  on  patrol  can  report  regularly.  It  is  a  matter  for 
future  determination  whether  responsible  persons,  such  as  officers  of 
banks,  and  exchanges  and  of  other  responsible  business  concerns  will  be 
permitted  to  have  keys  to  this  telephone  system,  to  enable  them  to  com- 
municate directly  with  the  police  station  in  case  of  emergency.  The 
great  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  introduction  of  such  a  system 
are  obvious.  It  will  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  police  force  in  the 
protection  of  life  and  property  as  much  as  would  the  addition  of  many 
hundred  men  to  the  force. 

The  great  difficulty  in  securing,  under  former  administrations,  a 
telephone  patrol  signal  system  had  been  the  supposed  enormous  expense 
of  installing  such  a  system,  particularly  in  the  Borough  of  Manhattan, 
where  the  wires  would  have  to  be  in  cables  under  ground.  It  had  been 
estimated  that  such  a  system  would  cost  about  $600,000,  added  to  which 
would  be  the  expense  of  maintenance,  —  about  $25,000  a  year. 

Commissioner  Greene  succeeded  in  completing  arrangements  with 
the  New  York  Telephone  Company  for  installing  a  police  patrol  tele- 
phone system  at  an  expense  of  $20,855.20,  or  less  than  the  annual  expense 
of  maintaining  a  system  installed  by  the  city. 

The  preparations  for  the  installation  have  so  far  progressed  to  the 
point  of  securing  permission  from  owners  and  occupants  of  buildings  to 
make  the  necessary  attachments  of  telephone  boxes  and  equipment  to  the 
walls  of  buildings.  This  consent  has  been  given,  as  a  rule,  cheerfully 
and  with  expressions  of  appreciation  of  the  proposed  improvement. 


[426] 


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[433] 


84 

Appendix  I — Continued. 


SUMMARY  OF  COMPLAINTS  AGAINST  MEMBERS  OF  THE  UNIFORMED  FORCE  DURING  i 


NATURE  OF  COMPLAINT 



Fined 

Repre- 
nianded 



Complaints 
dismissed 



Complaint 
upon  which 

dismissed 

the  Force 

Pending 
when  men 

dismissed 
on  other 
charges 

Pending 
when 



Pending 
when  died 

Pending 
when 

Others 
pending 

Dis- 
approved 

Fines 
remitted 

Reduced  to 
patrolman 

Suspended 

TOTAL 

Did  not  properly  patrol  or  relieve  

Miscellaneous  violations  of  rules  and  neglect  of  duty. 

Assaulting  citizens  

Neglect  to  pay  debt  

Conversation  

Unbecoming  conduct  

Intoxication  and  alcoholism  

Assaulting  an  officer  

584 
496 
310 
106 
21 
18 
140 
27 
63 

209 
208 
272 

>l 

56 

57 
14 

4 

65 

59 
235 
14 
47 
85 
12 
27 
4 

16 

13 
10 
23 

6 

18 
24 
1 
3 

4 

3 

16 
8 
1 
7 

3 
4 

4 

- 

28 

18 
1 

3 
1 

4 

I 
I 

I 



881 
781 
886 
189 
83 
197 
210 
99 
97 

5 

1,767 

861 

548 

114 

46 

5 

4 

6 

30 

29 

2 

3.414 

IN  THE  ABOVE  TABLE  THE  FOLLOWING  ARE  THE  CASES  OF  OFFICERS  ABOVE  THE  RANK  OF  PATROLMAN 


John  Reardon  .  . 
D.  C.  Moynihan 

James  Churchill 


Thomas  McCormick. 
Joseph  F.  Melledy  .  . 


Date  of  complaii 


I902 

May  23 
September  10 


October  27 
September  9 
September  18 


1902 

July  8 

September  16 

November  6 


November  25 
October  18 


NATURE  OF  COMPLAINT 


Made  false  entries  in  blotter  

Detailed  patrolman  to  perform  wot 
police  duty  

Neglect   of   duty,   making  false 
obedience  of  orders  anil  conduct 
an  officer  


eports,  uis- 
unbecoming 


Received  money  for  accepting  bail 

Under  the  influence  of  liquor  

Under  the  influence  of  liquor  


Date  certiorari 

Status  certiorari 

1902 

August        1 5 

October  24 

1903 
hebruary  17 

1902 
December   3 1 

Tending 
('ending 

Pending 

[434] 


O 

HZ 

ZD 

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[436] 


87 

APPENDIX  \\—Contimced. 
TABLE  OF  CHANGES  IN  THE  PERSONNEL  OF  THE  POLICE 
FORCE  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY  IN  THE  YEARS  1892-1902, 
AND  IN  THE  FIRST  EIGHT  MONTHS  OF  1903 


1892. 

Superintendent 

Inspectors  

Captains  

Sergeants   

Det.  Sergeants. 
Roundsmen  .  .  . 
Patrolmen  

1893. 

Superintendent. 

Inspectors  

Captains  

Sergeants   

Det.  Sergeants. 
Roundsmen  .  .  . 
Patrolmen  

1894. 

Superintendent 

Inspectors  

Captains  , 

Sergeants  

Det.  Sergeants. 
Roundsmen  .  .  . 
Patrolmen  


1895. 

•thief  

Inspectors  

Captains  

Sergeants   

Det.  Sergeants 
Roundsmen  .  .  . 
Patrolmen  


1 
I 

49 


61 


*7 


93 


7 

96' 


2Q 


'4 


30 


1 
2 
7 
7 

95 


Si 


275 


301 


344 


*  Title  changed  from  Superintendent. 

[437] 


88 


APPENDIX  W—ConUmied. 


1896. 

Chief  

x'Denurv  Chief 

ixjj 

InsDectors  

I 

1 

( -    "V  • 

2 

6 

1 
19 

19 
36 

- 

1 

4 

... 

Det.  Sergeants 

■■■■) 

5 

6 

21 

02 

— ) 

I  2Q^ 

■  *Jt\ 

1897. 

Chief             .  . 

tJ 



5 
6 
17 



V 

6 
6 

1 

5 

■ 

I 

Det.  Sergeants 

3i 

35  42 

92 

17 

Patrolmen  

::::< 

222 

i 

1898. 

Chief  

Deputy  Chiefs. 

Inspectors  

Captains  

Sergeants   

Det.  Sergeants. 
Roundsmen  .  .  . 
Patrolmen  


1899. 

Chief  

♦  Deputy  Chiefs 
^Inspectors .... 

Captains  

Sergeants.  

Det.  Sergeants. 
Roundsmen  .  .  . 
Patrolmen  


AFTER  CONSOLIDATION. 


45 


3 
49 


44 


48 


3 

100 


16 


16 


♦Promoted  from  Inspector. 
+ Reduced  to  Inspector,  1. 
X  Reduced  to  Captain,  1. 


I438J 


117 


I 
I 

39 
168 

36 
182 
4,484 

4,912 


1 
1 
6 
40 
172 
5o 
202 
4,454 


4,926 


5 

10 
72 

324 
88 
361 
6,397 

7,258 


5 
9 
73 
326 
88 
374 
6,319 

7,195 


89 

APPENDIX  U— Continued. 


1900. 

Chief  

Deputy  Chiefs. 

Inspectors  

Captains.  

Sergeants 
Det.  Sergeants, 
Roundsmen  .  ,  . 
Patrolmen  


1901. 

-Chief  

fDeputy  Chiefs 

Inspectors  

Captains  

Sergeants   

Det.  Sergeants. 
Roundsmen  .  .  . 
Patrolmen  


1902. 

Inspectors  

Captains  

Sergeants  

Det.  Sergeants. 
Roundsmen.. .  . 
Patrolmen  


83 


First  8  Months  1903. 

Inspector  o  

^Captains  

Sergeants  

!| Det.  Sergeants  

Roundsmen   

*i  Patrolmen  


49 


2 
4 

70 


43 


19 


2 

3 

10 
100 


3 
17 
12 

16 

4 

82 


34 


1 

170 

9 


16 
61 


30 
1 
48 
49 


EOg 


391 


16 
61 


500 


8 
3i 
40 

1 

49 
513 


*  Office  abolished,  t  Four  Deputy  Chiefs  reduced  to  Inspectors.  §  Reduced  to  Sergeant,  1. 
I  Remanded,  8.  To  Sergeant,  40.  1  To  Det.  Sergeant,  8.  Dropped,  1  ;  Reappointed,  1  ;  Rein- 
stated to  Det.  Sergeant,  163. 


I  439] 


go 


Appendix  III 

DIAGRAM  OF  THE  PRESENT  PATROL  SYSTEM. 
FIRST  WEEK 


[440] 


CIVIOOHeJ 


HT 


i 


